Let Your Heart Win
by ashteabear
Summary: AU Everyone at Konoah Leaf High is not who they seem to be... sasusaku, naruhina. R&R pleaseth :3
1. The Nerd Chick

**Let Your Heart Win **

**Chapter 1**

**DISCLAIMER: K9PUPPYG DOES NOT OWN NARUTO.**

* * *

"You're such a bastard."

I turned to look at the owner of that voice. We glared for what seemed to be three years, until the sound of a doorbell broke the tension.  
Of course, since it was my house I stood to answer the door.

I looked at the being that stood on the other side of the doorway. It was a girl around my age. Judging by her posture, she didn't really strike me as the most confident.

"Can I help you...?" I asked her.

"Uh-Uhm yes. I'm new in town and I...I was wondering if you went to Fire Leaf High." The words came out of her mouth, barely audible.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, uhm. I was wondering if it wasn't too much trouble..." She paused, suddently hearing Naruto's voice.

"Who is it, Sasuke?" Naruto called from behind me. Then he peered around my shoulder. "Hi! What's up?"

I sighed.

"She was about to ask me something, Naruto." Then I turned my gaze back towards her. Her face became pale-er as a result.

"I was-uhm wondering if you could sh-show me the way to school tomorrow morning."

"You're going to our school??" Naruto yelled from behind me...right in my ear. The girl only nodded. "Well, of course he'll show you the way!"  
Somehow, my opinion no longer mattered, because the girl took his answer, thanked me, and left. I slowly closed the door and turned to Naruto.

"Why would you do that?" I mustered up all my strength not to punch the boy in his face.

"Do what?" He replied, completely oblivious.

"I don't want to walk with her to school tomorrow." I said simply.

"Well, how come?"

"I'd rather not be alone with a girl that I don't know." I know it would only be a 10 minute commute, but I still had no interest in being in an awkward silence. Just my normal, everyday silence.

"Well, I'll come so you won't be alone! Simple." He had to have comebacks everytime didn't he? I let an irritated sigh escape my lips.

"Fine." I agreed "But, you better be here on time. If you're not here by 6:30, I'm leaving." I had to make sure Naruto knew this. I have an attendance of excellence in school. Naruto, on the other hand...was the opposite.

And with that said, Naruto agreed and left for home. He decided that he should go to sleep a little early.

* * *

The next morning...

I walked out of my door surprised to see Naruto and the girl already outside, standing by my mailbox. His mouth was running a mile a second, and the girl couldn't stop from laughing.

"Good job dobe. You came on time." I smirked at his frown.

"G-good morning." The girl said and bowed.

"Good morning..." I paused "What's your name again?"

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Hyuuga Hinata." She held her hand out for me to shake. I took it and replied.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"And I'm Naruto!" He grinned, and she smiled back at him. Her face was pale and her cheeks became tinted with pink. If I didn't know any better I'd say she has a crush on him. That...or maybe it's because we're standing in the cold. The sidewalks were covered in ice and the winds were whipping wildly.

"Nice to meet you both." She said genuinely. I nodded.

"Shall we go now?" I asked as I adjusted my backpack over my shoulder. They both nodded and we began to walk down the sidewalk. For the first minute or so, it was quiet. The only noise heard was the ice crunching beneath our feet. Every now and then a car would wizz by.

"So, Hinata." Was all I had heard before I tuned their conversation out. Every now and then Naruto would include me by saying "Right, Sasuke?" or "Remember that, Sasuke?" I only nodded in reply.

When we finally arrived at school, we parted ways with Hinata. She had to go to the main office to get her schedule, id, and locker. Thank goodness. I don't think I could bare any more of her giggling at Naruto's antics.

Naruto and I walked to the academics building. This was where all the lockers were located.

"See ya in homeroom, bastard." Naruto grinned as he walked into the stairwell. His locker was upstairs. In freshman and sophmore years, our lockers were next to eachother. That's how we met...

* * *

**Flashback**

_Freshman Sasuke was opening his new locker. He had quietly stuffed the books he didn't need inside the locker. Just minding his own business. Then, someone tapped his shoulder.  
_

_"Excuse me." Sasuke turned around curiously.  
_

_"What...?" Sasuke asked. The person in front of him was a blonde boy with spikey hair. He sported an orange jumpsuit and was about 2 inches shorter than Sasuke.  
The boy nervously laughed and scratched the back of his head.  
_

_"I can't seem to find my locker. It's 223B." Sasuke looked at him with an are-you-serious look, which the boy read quickly. "Nevermind, I'll just find it myself." The boy said quietly. His head drooped a little and he began to turn away.  
_

_Sasuke put his hand on the boy's shoulder, which made him turn to face him. Sasuke simply pointed at the locker next to his.  
"223B" The locker read. The boy instantly laughed.  
_

_"Haha! I knew that." He said and scratched the back of his head, flustered. Sasuke simply shook his head. The boy turned to his locker and began to open it.  
_

_"Ohhh Sasuke!!" came the voice of a girl. She had purple hair and it was long on one side and short on the other.  
_

_"What do you want, Ami?" Sasuke asked through clenched teeth.  
_

_"Well...I just wanted to let you know that...I'm saving a seat for you in homeroom! Kay?" She told him. He just nodded and she skipped off, happily.  
_

_"Wow..." said the boy who Sasuke forgot was even standing there."All the ladies fall over you like that, man?" Sasuke sighed and just nodded, aggitated.  
_

_"You sir, are my idol." The boy said with awe. Sasuke just looked at the boy. "Uzumaki Naruto!" The boy held out his hand, grinning. Sasuke thought this boy was annoying.  
_

_"Uchiha Sasuke." he replied as he shook his hand. Although Sasuke knew Naruto would be an annoyance, but what he didn't know was that they would soon be the best of friends.  
_

**End Flashback**

* * *

There weren't that many people in the hallway since it was still pretty early. This was the quietest part of the day, and my favorite.  
I turned to my locker and opened it. A folded piece of paper fell out.

"Damn." I silently cursed to myself. The paper fell into a puddle created by the melted ice from my shoes. I bent down and picked up the damp paper. Upon further examination I realized that this wasn't any of my classwork. (The poorly drawn hearts gave it away.) It was just a silly love note. So I did what I usually do when I recieve notes in my locker...

Ball 'em up and toss 'em in the trash bin.

I took off my white scarf and black jacket and stored them in my locker, revealing my black longsleeved sweater. I closed my locker and walked towards the library.  
I needed to finish my math homework from last Friday. It was only the second week of school, and I'm already slipping. I opened the wooden door to the library and made my way over to the closest vacant table. Unzipping my bookbag, I pulled out my pre-calculus book and my folder. I opened my math book and turned to the homework page. I opened my folder and pulled out my half-finished homework and laid it flat on the table. When I replaced the folder back into the bag where it was, I realized that I didn't have a pencil.

I stood up and walked over to the checkout counter. There was a girl running the checkouts.

Great, another girl to swoon over me.

I walked up to the desk wincing as she exclaimed,  
"Oh my gosh! It's Uchiha Sasuke!! Here at my counter!!"

Well, I winced expecting her to say that, but surprisingly, she didn't. In fact, she hadn't even noticed my presence!

I watched her.

Her eyes were glued to a thick book. She had long, pink hair and it was in a low side ponytail.

I cleared my throat.

Her gaze slowly raised from her book to me. She had on black frames that she pushed up on her nose with her index finger.

"Can I help you?" she asked quietly, but audible. Unlike my first meeting with Hinata. She had direct eye contact and a firm demeanor.

"Do you have a spare pencil that I may borrow?" I asked. She folded her fingers together and rested her chin on them.

"Hmm...I think I might." Then she reached down below the desk into her bag and pulled out a pencil. She inspected it and held it out to me. "Here you go." She chirped and smiled at me. I took the pencil from her grasp.

"Thanks." I paused and looked at the name tag on her yellow blouse, "....Ms. Haruno." She smiled again and nodded. Then she went back to her thick book.

I returned to my table and began looking over the problems, and one by one I was completing them.

"Bahaha! You have got to be kidding me!" I heard exclaim. She was probably on a cell phone, I thought. I let my eyes wander over to the checkout counter. There she was, just reading her book.

"Weird."

I said to myself. Maybe she's texting someone... However, I shook the thought off and returned to my math problems.

"Man! Anko was sure crazy to pick this one!" I heard her again. I sighed and looked up again. Again, her nose was buried in that book.

Now, being curious I just watched her.

She flipped a page and she smiled. She continued reading down the page, making different expressions all the way down. Then she laughed again.

"Ms. Haruno?" I said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I bothering you?" I shook my head.

"I was just wondering. What are you reading?"

"Oh, just some philosophical documents." she replied tilting her head.

"Are they...funny?" I was clearly confused. I didn't see the humor in that topic. She blushed and muffled,

"Oh, well no. It was just something my teacher said about them in class."

Satisfied, I looked back down at my math problems, I completed three more when someone sat in the chair across from me. I looked up to see Ms. Haruno. She peered at me with her green eyes.

"Need any help? Homeroom starts in 7 minutes." she told me. I looked down at my book. I had 8 more problems to finish, there was no way I could finish in time for class.

"No, I don't think I'll be able to finish anyways." I told her.

She looked at my book thoughtfully and walked over behind the checkout counter. She crouched down for a while and returned her previous position in front of me. She slid the paper in front of me and said,

"I have Asuma tomorrow. The remaining problems are there for you and all complete." I stared at her curiously. "I just thought that my noise was destracting you." She smiled at me.

"You don't have to..." I started.

"I insist. I'd feel horrible if you turn in incomplete work because of me." I smirked.

"If you say so." And I began to copy her answers onto my paper. Of course, I double checked to see if the answers were correct, and they were. Wow, this kid is some kind of nerd or something.

"Thanks, Ms. Haruno." I passed the sheet back to her. The warning bell rang.

"Call me Sakura." She took the paper and went back behind the counter, this time emerging with her bookbag. I put all my stuff back in my bag and stood up walking towards the door.

"Thanks...Sakura." I thanked her again. She smiled and nodded. Then we parted directions.

* * *

Kakashi was my homeroom teacher. He was also my reading teacher, which was third period. I walked in and sat in my desk next to Naruto. He wasn't here yet... Which wasn't surprising. He usually comes running in through the doorway right when the bell rings. Yelling,

"I'M ON TIME KAKASHI!"

I looked up.

Very predictable.

However, Naruto never needs to rush because Kakashi is always the last to make it in the class. Naruto just hasn't learned that yet. His eyes wandered over to me and he grinned. He plopped into the desk beside me.

"Yo Sasuke!" The usual greeting. I just nodded, acknowledging his existence. A few minutes passed and the announcements came on.

"Goooood Morning Fire Leaf High!" Came the voice of Tsunade on the intercom. She's the principal. She continued with the announcements and I tuned in and out on them. I caught that we were having ramen at lunch today, cheerleading tryouts was today, and the first debate team meeting was today. Then, the next thing Tsunade said caught my attention.

"Football practice is today afterschool-" her voice was drowned out by the "Whoop!Whoop!Whoop!" of the football players in my class. I smirked at Naruto as he punched his fist in the air. Naruto and I were among the football players. I was the quarterback and the captain. This only made me very popular, especially among the female population. Which I didn't particularly like after a while...It's just that some of them get out of hand, and I'll leave it at that.

The announcements ended and Kakashi came strolling in.

"Yo." He nonchalantly waved.

The class began to chatter, waiting for the bell for first period.

A few moments passed by and a familiar face emerged into the class. It was Sakura. I smirked and tuned Naruto out. He was babbling on about the ramen they were going to serve at lunch.

She glanced at me and gave me a little wave, which I returned

...which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"Ooh, Sasuke. Who's that? Your girlfriend?" He cooed at me. I frowned.

"Shutup dobe. I met her in the library earlier." I watched her while she was speaking to Kakashi, who had a lazy look on his face. Then, she left the class.

Another minute passed as I tapped the pencil from earlier on my desk. The bell was taking too long.

"Hey, Sasuke." I looked at Naruto. "The playmaker and I were planning-" The bell cut him off. "Nevermind Sasuke, I'll tell you at lunch." I nodded and we stood up to leave for first period.

* * *

I came to the doorway of my first period and peeked inside to see if my teacher was in there. My first period teacher was also the football coach, Asuma. He's my math teacher.

I saw him there looking through some papers on his desk. So, I stepped in and made my way to my desk.

"Hey Uchiha, C'mere a second." Asuma called. He called all the football players by their last name. Well, he called some of the non football players by their last name too...

"Yes, Asuma?"

"You know we have practice afterschool today." I nodded. "I'll be looking forward to seeing my star player on the field, right?" I smirked.

"You know it." I deserved the title "star player". I was the only freshman to make it on the varsity team. In my sophmore year I was the fastest on the team, so I was quarterback, and I was titled MVP, and I mentioned earlier that I am the captain of the team.

"Haha! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do this year." Asuma said excitedly. I smirked again and returned to my desk.

"Uchiha." I looked at him. "Pass me your homework assignment."

Oh yeah. I forgot he was my math teacher.

* * *

Second period.

My least favorite period of the day... Most likely because it was the loudest. I usually sat in the back corner of this class.

"SASUKE!" Ugh... I know who that voice belonged to. I slowly looked up and saw Ino walking over in my direction. She slid into the desk in front of mine and she turned around to look at me.

"Hey, Sasuke. How was your weekend?" I didn't really feel like talking. So I just nodded. "Cool Sasuke." She paused and blew out a breath. "Sasuke are you playing football this year?" I just nodded. "Well, this year I'm going to be on the cheerleading squad! So, I'll be cheering you on!" She giggled at me. I just nodded again.

I never had a full conversation with Ino. I didn't like her much. Ino was pretty and all. She has blue eyes and blonde hair. It's just that she annoys me, alot. It was worse when she was around her friends. Ino was all beauty and no brains.

My friend, Tenten, came in the class and sat in the desk next to mine.

Tenten has brown hair and always wore them in two buns. (Her hair reminded me of a mouse.) Tenten's a senior and I'm a junior. I don't remember how I met Tenten. I do remember one thing though, she has a huge crush on this guy on the football team.

"Sup Sasuke" I just nodded, acknowledging her existence.

Kurenai (My chemistry teacher.) suddently spoke.

"Okay class take out your notes." I pulled my folder out of my bookbag and I took out the pencil from earlier. Ino turned around and was about to say something, but she stopped and stared at the pencil. She laughed nervously when she noticed I was looking at her funny.

"It was just- well your pencil looked familiar." She said, then turned back around. I looked at the pencil, it looked just like any other pencil to me. I shrugged and copied down the notes on the board.

* * *

The bell rang. It was time for lunch.

I walked over to my usual table with Naruto and Tenten.

"Yo Sasuke!" Naruto said as I sat down. "Sup Ten."

"Hey Naruto." she said when she sat down. Naruto looked over to the lunch line.

"I'm gonna go get some ramen." He said while standing up.

"Yeah, I'm coming too." Tenten said and they left. I brought my own lunch, which was a ham and cheese sandwich.

I looked up at the sound of loud laughter. A group of girls walked into the cafeteria. It was Ino and her friends. I sighed and went back to my sandwich.

"HEY HINATA!" I heard Ino yell from 3 tables away. I looked at the entrance and there was Hinata. She waved at Ino. Then she looked around and saw me. she walked over and sat in the chair next to me.

"Hello Sasuke." She said.

"Hey." I replied. I usually never say anything back, but I did.

"ARRRRGH! WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!?" I heard Ino yell. "HANDLE YOUR FRIEND SAKURA!"

"Sakura?" I repeated.

Then I looked over to Ino's table. There was Sakura, but she looked different. Her hair was like Ino's, in a high ponytail, and she didn't have her glasses on.

Ino was angry and poking Sakura in her face. She was trying to get Ino to calm down.

That's funny, I never would've expected someone like Sakura to be hanging around Ino.

She screamed again and stormed out of the cafeteria.

"What kind of friend are you Sakura!?" One of Ino's friends yelled. It was Ami. "I can't believe you would let something like that happen to Ino!" The other girls agreed and they were yelling at Sakura. After they were done yelling at her Ami said,"Come on! Let's go see if Ino's okay!" And they all stormed out of the cafeteria, without Sakura.

"Geez. What's wrong with that girl now?" Naruto said when he sat back down. He and Tenten sat across from me and Hinata. Naruto noticed her presence. "Hey Hinata."

"Hi." She replied.

"I don't know. As long as she's not here I'm fine." Then I looked back over to where Sakura was sitting.

"Aw, man. I forgot to get a fork." Naruto said. He left to go get one.

"Poor girl." I heard Hinata say.

"Who? Ino?" Tenten asked. Hinata shook her head.

"No, Sakura. Her bestfriend." Hinata said.

"Bestfriend?" I repeated. Weird. If they were bestfriends, how come I've never seen Sakura before? Ino was always in my face... Hinata nodded and continued.

"Ino yells at her alot. For trivial reasons." That made me a little angry. At Ino for being a bitch and at Sakura for not defending herself.

I stood up.

"Where ya goin, Sasuke?" Naruto asked when he came back over.

"Be right back."

I walked over to Sakura, stepping over various stray food items on the floor. When I got to her, she looked up at me. "Mind if I sit?" I asked her. She shook her head and pulled out the chair next to her.

"Y'know. You wouldn't strike me as the kind of person to hang around Ino."

I looked at her, her face was red, but she wasn't crying. She blew out a breath.

"You know, she has a LOT of nerve." I heard her say. I looked down at her hands, she was squeezing the life out of a fork, and her knuckles were beginning to turn white. "Stupid Ino-pig!" I blinked. She didn't talk like someone who wouldn't defend herself.

"What did you do to make her mad?" I asked. Sakura threw her hands up.

"I didn't do anything!" A puzzled expression slapped itself on my face.

"Then, why did she yell at you like that?" Her face paled, and she got this sad look in her eyes, but she quickly masked it with a blank expression. The fork that she was suffocating dropped onto the table.

"Oh, I was just being generous to someone... and Ino." She paused. "She did something to Ino." She looked down at the table. I didn't know what came over me when I said this next sentence.

"Well, you wanna come to our table?"

What was wrong with me? Our table already had enough people as it is. But, something iniside me made me feel warm when she smiled. Then she nodded. Then a look of realization came over her face.

"You're Uchiha Sasuke aren't you?" I smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"I've always heard your name, but I never knew your face." She smiled and continued "Nice to meet you." Then we walked back over to my table.

"Hey guys, this is Sakura." I said when we came back to the table.

"Hey, Sakura." They all said at once. Sakura waved. Then she looked at Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata." Then she sat by her. Naruto looked at Hinata.

"You guys know each other?" He asked...with a noodle hanging out of his mouth. Hinata giggled and nodded. Sakura grinned and added,

"Yeah, we have homeroom together." Naruto nodded, satisfied.

"I'm Naruto." He said.

"And I'm Tenten." Tenten added. Sakura smiled and said,

"Nice to meet you, both."

The bell rang for third period.

Naruto gulped down the last bit of his ramen and rubbed his stomach. He looked at Tenten, who was about to throw the rest of hers away.

"Tenten, woah. Wait a second." Naruto said, "Let me finish that for you." Tenten rolled her eyes and passed him the cup. He gulped hers down too. Then he grinned.

"I know who to give my food to when I need to throw it away." Tenten said mortified at Naruto's table manners.

"Only the ramen." Naruto added, holding up his finger. Everyone stood up from the table and went to the trash cans. I looked at Naruto and he had ramen on his chin.

"Uhm, dobe. You got food on your face." I said while pointing at his face.

"Oh, here. I have a napkin." Hinata said. She offered it to him. He took it from her and wiped his face.

"Thanks, Hinata." He said, and grinned at her. She blushed.

Now, I was sure she had a crush on him. I smirked and looked at Tenten. She had the same smirk on her face. Apparently, we were thinking the same thing.

"N-no problem." she replied. Then, Sakura walked over.

"Say, Naruto. Would you mind walking Hinata to her class." I looked at Sakura in surprise. "She was feeling a little light-headed earlier, and I don't want her to fall out." Hinata made a face that said what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about, and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Naruto said,

"Sure, I don't mind." Sakura winked at Hinata, who blushed even more,

"Thanks, Naruto." He nodded, then he walked out of the cafeteria with Hinata.

I turned to Sakura.

"I wouldn't expect something like that from you." I told her while we all walked out of the cafeteria.

"See you guys later." Tenten said walking towards the gym. We both waved.

Sakura smirked. "I was just helping." She held her hands up in defense. We walked upstairs.

"Your class is up here too?" I asked. She nodded. Then, she stopped in front of a classroom door.

"This is it." She said. "See ya later...Sasuke." She smiled up at me. I waved and she retreated into her class.

* * *

"Welcome back, Sasuke." I heard Kakashi say when I entered the class.

I nodded and sat in my desk. It was near the window. I looked to the right and saw a boy with his head down. He had brown hair that was pulled up into a ponytail.

"Hey, Playmaker." I greeted. The boy lifted his head and lazily replied.

"Sup, Sasuke." Then he plopped his head back on his desk. His name wasn't actually "Playmaker", it was just a nickname he aquired. His real name is Nara Shikamaru. He comes up with all the plays for the team. Which is where he got the name, "playmaker". I thought he was an interesting character. He got horrible grades, yet he was a genius. He was the key to our winning streak.

"Did Naruto tell you about the play?" I heard him say. I looked at him again.

"Oh, yeah. He was telling me about something in homeroom, but the bell rang before he could finish." I paused. "He must've forgot to tell me at lunch." I shrugged.

"Well..." he started "You know Naruto is the worst player on the team." I nodded.

As much as I hated to say it, it was the truth. Naruto was the total opposite of me football wise. In freshman year, he barely made it on the JV team. In sophmore year, he miraculously made the varsity team, and he was the slowest. He got lucky to even be put into the game. Naruto was basically a benchwarmer.

"All the other teams know this as well." He continued. "So, I was thinking of making him our secret weapon." I looked at him like he was crazy, which he seemed not to notice. "I already went over the play with Naruto. We're going to go over it again at practice." Then I looked at him with a face that said what-does-this-have-to-do-with-me? Which he read, and he added. "You're an essential part of the play."

* * *

The bell rang again. Signaling for fourth period.

I walked out of the class with the playmaker and we walked downstairs. All juniors have gym for 4th period. So, we walked out of the building towards the gym. Playmaker and I turned into the boys locker room, along with other boys.

I walked over to my locker and opened it. Naruto walked up beside me and opened his locker. All athletes had large lockers for our extra equipment, and they were in a designated area.

"The playmaker told me about the thing." I told Naruto. Naruto grinned and said,

"So, what do you think of it?" I shook my head. I pulled my sweater off, revealing my t-shirt.

"He didn't show me since he didn't have the play with him in class." Naruto scratched the back of his head, while his gym shirt hung around his neck.

"Oh, well I think it's a great play...except for one minor detail..." He trailed off. There was something they weren't telling me.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked.

"Well, you see-"

"EVERYBODY GET INSIDE THE GYM IN 10 SECONDS!!" Gai, our gym teacher, yelled and cut Naruto off.

"I'll tell you later." Naruto said. We finished getting dressed right when the countdown ended and ran into the gym.

* * *

All the boys have Gai as their gym teacher, and all the girls have Anko as theirs.

Both of them loved to yell, that's probably why they were hired.

The boys sat on one side of the gym in formation. Naruto sat behind me because his last name, Uzumaki, came after mine, Uchiha. That way, it was more organized when attendance was called.

"UCHIHA SASUKE" I stood up and walked over to the bleachers for further instruction.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO" He stood up and followed suit. Naruto sat next to me and Playmaker migrated from his spot to the other side of me. Gai finished the attendance and walked back into his office, while we waited...

I looked down at the girls who were currently doing warmups. Naruto nudged me in the side.

"Ne, Sasuke. There's your girlfriend." He said while pointing. I followed his finger and I scowled at him.

"She's not my girlfriend, dobe." He was pointing at Sakura.

"Who?" Playmaker asked.

Naruto pointed to Sakura again and said,

"The one with the pink hair." The playmaker looked down at her, she was playing basketball with Ino and her friends.

"She's a pretty good player." Playmaker commented. I watched her play...pretty horribly.

"You're joking, right?" Naruto and I said, simultaneously.

"No." he said blankly. I looked at them again. Ami was passing the ball to Ino and Sakura tried to steal her pass, but ended up dropping the ball.

"She sucks." Naruto said. "No offense, Sasuke." I blew out an agitated breath.

"She's obviously faking it." Playmaker stated. I didn't believe it, but it was useless to argue with the Playmaker, he was always right.

Gai finally came back.

"ALRIGHT! EVERYONE! TODAY'S A FREE DAY! NOW GO PLAY!" As soon as he said "play" all the guys were out of the bleachers.

I walked around and saw Hinata. She was watching some people play jump rope. Naruto saw her too.

"See ya later." He said before he walked off. It was just the Playmaker and I now. I turned around and saw Sakura standing behind Ino. She waved at me, and I waved back.

Ino, who thought I was waving at her, waved at me.

The Playmaker, who was standing next to me, waved at Ino.

Ino just stuck her tongue out at him and walked to the other side of the gym.

Sakura watched her walk off and blew out a breath. She wandered over to me and the Playmaker.

"Hey, Shikamaru." she greeted.

"Sup, Sakura." He said. I looked at them both.

"You know her?" I asked the Playmaker. He nodded.

"Yeah, she's Ino's bestfriend." He replied.

"We all grew up together." She added.

"Oh..." I said. Sakura looked around at the crowded gym.

"Hey, you guys wanna play?" She gestured to the ball in her hands. The Playmaker shook his head.

"No, I'm tired of losing to you." He said. I arched an eyebrow at him.

"You lost... to her?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll play you." I said. "One-on-One." I added. There was no way I could lose to her.  
She smirked.

"Okay." she said. "Shikamaru, be referee." He slumped his shoulders.

"Troublesome." he mumbled.

"First one to five points wins." She said. I nodded.

"Okay." Piece of cake I thought.

We started the game and I had the ball. I was dribbling the ball, when Sakura stole it from me and shot it in the net! I stood there, dumbfounded. She laughed and passed me the ball.

"One to Zero." The Playmaker said.

This time I guarded the ball a little more. She was behind me, and I shot it in the net before she could steal it.

"One to One."

I smirked when I passed the ball back to her. She simply tossed it into the net.

"Two to One."

I frowned at her. She smiled.

"What's wrooong, Sasuke?" She teased and passed the ball to me. I decided to simply shoot, like she did. It bounced off the rim, right into Sakura's grasp.

"Three to One."

"No way!" I yelled. The Playmaker smirked.

"Told ya she was good." he added.

She passed the ball to me. I decided I was going to dunk it this time. As soon as I jumped, Sakura stole it from me and dunked it herself!

"Four to One."

"One more point, Sasuke." She winked at me and passed the ball, which she stole back again. She was in mid throw when the Playmaker yelled,

"Sakura, look!" While he pointed behind us. I looked to where he was pointing and saw Ino looking around for someone.

Sakura wasn't paying attention to where she threw and the ball ended up bouncing off of the hoop and

...it hit Ami in the back of her head.

The whole gym seemed to get quiet.

"Who...THREW THAT BALL!?!?!?" Ami screeched. So, loud that the room seemed to shake. It felt like it did anyways. I looked at Sakura and she mouthed the words,

"Oh. Shit."

**

* * *

**

**A.N.: Uh oh, What's gonna happen to Sakura?? What's wrong with the new play?? Why was she faking to play horribly?? Find out next time on L.Y.H.W. **

**...So **

**Here's my new story. I wanted to do a Sasusaku story :D **

**And here's the first installment! **

**So, tell me what you think!**

* * *


	2. After School

**Let Your Heart Win **

**Chapter 2**

**DISCLAIMER: K9PUPPYG DOES NOT OWN NARUTO.**

* * *

I was playing jump rope with Hinata and Rock Lee (an insane look-a-like to Gai) when it happened. The gym got abnormally quiet. When that happened, I knew something had to be going on.

"Who...THREW THAT BALL!?!?!?" I turned around and saw that psycho chick, Ami, holding a basketball.

She pointed at Sakura.

"IT WAS YOU WASN'T IT!?" she yelled and began to walk towards her. Ami and her possie surrounded Sakura. "IT WAS YOU WASN'T IT SAKURA!?" she grabbed Sakura by her pink locks and yanked her to the ground.

"Let her go." All eyes turned to Sasuke. What was he up to? He wasn't going to fight a girl (no matter how psycho) was he?

"But, Sasuke." She whined. "She threw a ball at me!" And she pointed at Sakura, who was still in her grasp.

"I threw it." Everyone gasped. Ami, shocked, released her grip on Sakura.

"Wh-what? Sasuke, you threw it...?" She whimpered into her hands."But why???"

"It was an accident." He shrugged,"You don't want to fight me over it do you?" He walked over to Sakura and helped her up. Sakura and Ami exchanged glares. Ami "hmphed" and walked away.

The gym began to flow again, as if nothing ever happened.

Hinata and I ran over to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Sakura, you okay?" I asked her when I reached her. She looked at me while blowing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah." she replied.

"Who the hell does she think she is? She had no right to do that!" I growled angrily.

"But...I was the one who hit her with the ball..." She said quietly.

"What?" Hinata and I said at the same time. She nodded. I looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke...you?" I paused. Sasuke totally liked this chick.

"Sasuke just covered for me." Sakura looked at him. "Thanks." Then she held her head in pain.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Hinata asked. Sakura nodded.

"I need to go to the nurse though." Hinata nodded.

"I'll take her." She said, and they walked off. I looked at Sasuke and smirked.

"So...Sasuke. Why did you cover for Sakura?"

"Shut it, dobe." And he walked off. I laughed and walked around, waiting for Hinata to come back. I got tired and decided to sit in the bleachers.  
I looked down over the crowd in the gym. I spotted Rock Lee. He was a weird kid with a bowl cut, and oddly shaped eyes. He always wore green Spandex. I subconciously made a disgusted face.

He was surrounded by Ino and her friends. They were all laughing and joking around. I was trying to figure out what they found so appealing in Rock Lee. He got all the ladies surrounding him...maybe he was gay. Yeah, that's got to be it.

"I'm back, Naruto." I looked up, completely forgetting what I was just thinking about.

"Hey, Hinata." She sat next to me.

"Ne, Hinata." I began.

"Hm?"

"Do you have anyone to walk home with you? Sasuke and I have to stay afterschool today." She shook her head.

"I'm staying afterschool today too." She replied.

"Oh? What are you staying afterschool for? Cheerleading? I bet you'd look cute in a skirt." I laughed when she blushed. She shook her head furiously.

"N-n-no. I'm staying after for the Debate Club Meeting."

"Oh..." I replied nodding my head. Debate Club seemed more up her alley, although she was quiet. She seemed pretty smart. "So, do your folks know you're staying?" She shook her head.

"No."

"Well, do you need a phone? I could let you borrow mine..." I began to dig in my gym pants pocket. She shook her head.

"No, that's not necessary. It doesn't matter." I eyed her.

"Won't your family be worried?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter..." She repeated.

"Okay..." I replied slowly. I was about to say more, but the coaches cut me off with their whistle blowing.

"BALLS UP!" Anko yelled. I chuckled to myself.

"Balls up..." Hinata blushed and stiffled a giggle. I grinned at her. Hinata was a great audience. She looked like someone I've met before... but I can't remember who.

I stood up and held my hand out to her.

"My lady." She giggled and took my hand.

"My, my. Such a gentleman." She smiled at me.

"Naruto! Come on!" I heard Sasuke yell.

"Gotta go." I stepped around her and went to the boys locker room.

* * *

Sasuke was standing by our lockers, holding his water bottle, waiting for me.

"Good Afternoon Fire Leaf High!" I looked up at the intercom. It sounded so weird to hear that old lady talk so, enthusiastically. Everytime I came to her office, she had a totally opposite demeanor.

She continued with the announcements.

I opened up my locker pulling out my water bottle. I looked at Sasuke,

"You think coach is gonna bring gatorade today?" I asked him while I closed my locker. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I just want to know what's wrong with this play." I laughed nervously.

"Uh...well, you'll see at practice."

He frowned.

I walked away like I didn't notice.

* * *

Back in the gym, I saw Sakura standing by the exit. She had an ice pack on her head. I walked over to her.

"Hey, Sakura. Feelin better now?" I asked her. She nodded and Ino walked over.

"Oh my God. Sakura, what happened to you?" She asked. I looked at Ino kinda peeved. I opened my mouth and was about to give her my 2 cents, but Sakura put her hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing important." I looked at her, surprised. She looked at me with a pleading look. So, I shut my mouth and crossed my arms. "So, did you need something, Ino?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if your mom said you can stay after for practice today?" Sakura shook her head.

"No, my mom said I can't do cheerleading, remember?" She blew out a breath. "She doesn't want me to get hurt or something." Ino threw her hands up in the air.

"I STILL dont see HOW you can get hurt in CHEERLEADING!"

"Well, you could fall off a pyramid." I added. She looked at me, menacingly.

"No one asked you, Naruto." and she stormed off. I laughed. Sakura looked at me.

"Naruto, why are you still wearing your gym uniform?" she asked. I smirked.

"Well, there's no point in changing clothes, when I'm gonna get even sweatier." She looked at me, not getting the point. "I'm on the football team..." I said blankly.

"OH!" she replied.

Sasuke, Playmaker, and Hinata walked over.

"Ready, Naruto?" Playmaker asked. I knew what he was talking about. "The Play". That's what we called it. This play could possibly be my big break.

I nodded vigorously, I was waiting for this all day.

The bell rang. Meaning that school is over.

"Hey, Hinata." Hinata looked at Sakura. "Can you come with me to my locker?" Hinata nodded.

"Cya guys later." They said and they walked off. We just waved and walked towards the football field.

* * *

I looked around at the field. It felt good to be back.

"HEY GUYS!" we all turned around. I instantly frowned. It was Kiba running up behind us. I couldn't stand this guy. He reminded me of a dog.

When he caught up to us he said,  
"Hey guys check out my new tats." He pointed to his cheeks. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Sure..." Playmaker said. Sasuke shrugged.

"Looks like shit." I said. Kiba frowned. I pointed at his face. "Why the hell would you pay someone to draw triangles on your face?" I inwardly smirked when his frown deepened.

"You're one to talk." He started. "You have whiskers on your face." I scoffed.

"Well, unlike that shit on your face. These babies," I paused to rub my cheeks "are birthmarks." He was about to say more, but Asuma blew his whistle.

We ran over to Asuma who was standing by the bench.

"Playmaker."

"Yeah, coach?" He asked. Asuma tossed Playmaker his keys.

"Go lock up the locker room when everyone comes out." Playmaker nodded and ran off.

"ALRIGHT!" He yelled. "While we wait for the rest of the team to come out of the locker room I want you all to go around the field 5 times."

"YES SIR!" We all yelled and started jogging along the track. It was only 20 seconds before I was behind everyone. Even Kiba was in front of me! There was no way in hell I was gonna let Kiba finish before me again. He liked to gloat, which is why I hated him.

Stupid showoff.

Maybe, I was jogging too slow. So, I sped up a little.

"PACE YOURSELF, UZUMAKI!" I heard Asuma yell from across the field. Whatever. I thought. I caught up to Chouji. He was a noseguard, because he was larger than most of us.

"Sup...pant...Naruto..." Chouji breathed out.

"Hey...pant..." I replied. I heard someone coming from behind us. It was Tenten.

"Hey, Naruto!! Chouji!!" She exclaimed. How she caught up to us and wasn't tired, was beyond me.

She was slowly inching past us.

NOW A GIRL WAS PASSING US!

This time I broke out into a full sprint passing Chouji, Tenten, and other players. Finally, I caught up to Kiba.

Thing only thing was.

My chest was about to EXPLODE! Kiba turned his head and looked at me.

"I wondered who that was wheezing in my ear."

"Can it, Kiba." I coughed. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Screw this." Was the last thing I remember saying before I blanked out.

.

......

................

**SPLASH!**

"GAAAHHHH!" I screamed and shot up. Someone just DUMPED water all over me! I looked around and saw a whole bunch of guys surrouunding me.

"NO! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" I yelled. They all made confused faces.

"What're you talking about, dobe?" I heard someone say.

"Aren't you guys tryin' to jump me?"

"..."

"BAHAHAHA!" They all burst out laughing. I frowned.

"Here, stand up, Naruto." Someone was helping me stand up. When I was up, a large hand tackled my shoulder.

"You just passed out Uzumaki." I looked at the owner of the hand. It was Asuma.

Oh, yeah. I'm at football practice.

I scratched the back of my head and laughed the embarrassment off.

"Alright everyone circle around the bench." Asuma ordered. He stood on top of it.

"Take a good look around you." he said motioning with his arm "You smell that? That's the smell of wet grass."

"The only thing I smell is wet dog...." I said to myself. Asuma must've heard me, cause he looked in my direction. He continued on.

"After practice today, I don't want to smell wet grass. I want to smell hardwork."

How you smell hardwork is beyond my knowledge. But if Asuma could smell it, he'd be pretty proud of the smell we made. That, or he could always pass out from our B.O.

We spread out, and Sasuke led us in warmups. Then, we began to do drills.

"Playmaker." Asuma called.

"Yeah, coach?"

"Go get the footballs while they're doing drills." He nodded and ran off.

* * *

We finished drills and came back to the bench right when Playmaker came back.

He and Asuma were talking about something and then he turned to us.

"Alright!" He said. "Uchiha, Uzumaki, Inuzuka, and Hyuuga. Go with Playmaker and Mascot."

He was referring to Tenten as "Mascot". She isn't really on the football team cause she's a girl. If she was a boy though, she'd make a hellova player. She's pretty fast and throws better passes than Sasuke. Girl got some mad skills!

But, sadly.

Her talent is wasted because she's a girl. So, she just helps out at practice and stuff.

We all walked over to the other side of the field, where the other bench resided.  
Playmaker sat down while we stood. We don't want to cramp up now do we?

"So, I'm pretty sure you guys have heard of 'The Play'."

Sasuke, dogboy, Tenten, and I nodded.

"I haven't." That voice belonged to Neji Hyuuga. He was a wide reciever. If Sasuke wasn't captain, I'm almost certain that Neji would be.

I looked at him.

Oh, yeah! He's the one that Hinata looks like. Same long dark hair, pale skin, and abnormally light eyes. Maybe they're related...? I'll ask Hinata later.

"Well." Playmaker's voice snapped me back into reality. "Neji, I have come up with a play for drastic measures."

"Drastic measures?" dogboy repeated.

"Yes. In other words, in case we need a backup plan." Playmaker pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and passed it to us. We all huddled around it. Then, Sasuke looked up.

"I'm not doing this." he said.

"Hm? Why not?" Playmaker replied.

"I think he's referring to the 'minor detail'." I added. Playmaker looked at me with a no-duh face.

"You call me being potentially trampled by a full-speed oncoming stampede of football players a minor detail?" I shrugged.

"Well, remember Sasuke, it's only a last resort." Sasuke didn't seem moved at all. "Just think about it."

"Hmm..." Sasuke made this face as if he was in deep thought. "No, I'm still not doing it. I like my body parts attatched to my body. Thank you."

Playmaker sighed.

"Fine." Then he looked at me and nodded. This was my cue.

"Well, I'll take his spot then." Everyone looked at me shocked.

"What are you talking about, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm gonna take your spot in the play." I said nonchalantly. Then, I looked at my fingernails, as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. "I'll trade with Sasuke."

"...." Everyone got quiet.

"No. I'll take Sasuke's spot." Kiba insisted. "Naruto will definately mess the play up." I knew he was going to say something like that.

"Well, if anyone takes Sasuke's spot, it might as well be one of the fastest on the team." Tenten added. We all knew she was referring to Neji. Tenten has a thing for the guy. Honestly, I have no idea why. He was intimidating and cold hearted. Worse than Sasuke.

"What do you think, Neji?" She asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I think Uchiha should just stop being a wuss." He smirked. Sasuke glared at him. I looked at Playmaker, and he was already looking back at me. I inwardly smirked. These guys were so predictable.

You see, if Sasuke disagreed to "The Play", like we knew he would. I would offer to take his place. And since I'm the so-called "dead last" of the team. (Still don't see why they call me that.) Everyone would think I'm crazy for even bringing that idea up.

So, dogboy would discard my idea and offer to take Sasuke's place because he's glory hungry.

Then, Tenten would offer Neji because she likes him. And since Neji is the "second best" she wants to boost up his reputation on the team.

And Neji, not really caring about his reputation on the team, would challenge Sasuke. Because...well, he always picks on Sasuke. Why that is? We have no idea. But it mixes in great with our plan.

So, since Sasuke can't resist a challenge (especially from Neji)

"Fine. I'll do the stupid play." I smirked when he said that.

"Alright." Playmaker replied satisfied. He looked at Tenten and told her to "start". He walked over towards Asuma.

She nodded and yelled.

"GO LONG!" Oh my gosh! Go long!? We all ran as quickly as we could.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" I yelled aloud. Tenten threw the ball annndddd.

**SMACK!  
**

I got hit in the head and fell on the ground. The whole football team ran over and surrounded me.

"Oh my gosh. Naruto, are you alright?" I heard many of them say.

This was going to be a looonggg practice...

* * *

"Okay. team. I really think I'm starting to smell that hardwork I was talking about." Asuma told us.

We all looked at him dumbly. I honestly didn't know what he was going on about, and I was too tired to care.

"So, since you guys all played so hard today! I'm gonna let you guys go hit the showers!"

Finally...nice, warm, shower.

* * *

"**ACK! COLDCOLDCOLDCOLD!**" I quickly turned the faucet off. Someone ran all of the stinkin hot water out of the tank!

So...I waited.

I sighed and decided after about 5 minutes that I could turn the shower back on.

It was still a little cold, but it was enough for me wash off the "hardwork" scent. I'll just take another when I get home.

I put my boxers and tshirt on and walked out of the shower stall with my bag. I looked to my left and saw dogboy by his locker.

"Maannn. That shower was great! Nice, HOT, water to relax my aching muscles." So it was him! He ran all the hot water out of the tank! I glared at him and he smirked.

"I. Hate. Him." I told Sasuke when I got to my locker. I put on the clothes I wore to school, which consisted of an orange sweater and black jeans.

I reached in for my black jacket and white scarf. I could hear the cheerleaders in the gym practicing. I heard their coach, Kurenai, yelling. She seemed like a tough coach.

"Oh, crap. I forgot my jacket and scarf in my school locker." Sasuke broke me out of my trance. I looked at him.

"I'll come with you. One sec." I put my gym clothes in my bag and shut my locker. Then we walked towards the academics building.

* * *

"Crap man. It's freezing cold." I shivered. I looked at Sasuke. Even though he didn't have a jacket on, nor a scarf, he didn't seem as cold as me. "Hoe come you're not cold, like me?" I asked him.

"Well, dobe. For one, your hair is soaking wet. Did you even bother to try and dry it off?" I chuckled. Oh, yeah. "And two," he continued. "Since the sun is setting, meaning it's colder than before, I decided to wash my hair when I get home."

Well...That did make sense, and the water was pretty cold to begin with. I shrugged the thought off and we continued the walk in silence.

"Come, Neji." I stopped to look at the owner of that voice. It was a tall man with a stoic expression. He looked just like Neji and Hinata. He was standing next to a little girl, who I assumed was his daughter...who also looked like them.

I saw Neji walking towards them in the parking lot.

"Ne, Sasuke?" I started.

"Hm?"

"I didn't know Neji had a sister." I said and pointed to them. His eyes wandered over in the direction that I was pointing in. He shrugged.

"I didn't know either."

* * *

We entered the building and I could hear people talking in the distance.

I walked up beside Sasuke while he was opening his locker.

"Sasuke."

"Hm?"

"You hear that?" He paused and looked around.

"Sounds like it's coming from the auditorium." He replied. I looked around.

I wonder what it is.

"I'm gonna go check it out." I told him and started walking.

I stopped at the door of the auditorium and peered in through the square window.

There were a whole bunch of people sitting around, talking. Then, a girl walked up on the stage.

Hey, that's Hinata. This must be the Debate Club meeting. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but the people in the audience seemed intrigued.

After she was done talking, she walked off the stage.

Wait a minute!

"Hey, Sasuke!" I yelled down the hall.

"What, dobe?" he answered.

"Stop bein a bastard and come look at this!" I heard him sigh and close his locker.

He came around the corner.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Look at this!" I told him and stepped aside.

He looked in the window and stepped back.

"Interesting..." He replied and walked in.

* * *

**A.N. : Cliffhanger!**

**What did Naruto see in the auditorium? **

**Why was Hinata acting so weird about her family? **

**Who were the mysterious characters that were in the parking lot? **

**How is Lee picking up all the chicks???**

**Find out next time on L.Y.H.W. :D **

**Thank you for all the reviews, faves, and alerts! They make me happy lol.**


	3. Confiding In You

**Let Your Heart Win**

**Chapter 3**

**DISCLAIMER: K9PUPPYG DOES NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**

* * *

**

**SAKURA**

"Fad diets are very common among the teenage female population." I began, "I have firsthand experience since I have witnessed the attempt at one." I paused and looked up at my audience. Most of the people in here weren't even part of the team, they were just spectators. There was about five of us actually a part of the Debate Club meeting. There are seven of us on a lucky day. However, the two people that emerged from the back door and sat in the back row were definitely _not_ in the Debate Club. I gulped. Oh my, what are they doing in here?

"SAKURA! CONTINUE WITH YOUR ARGUMENT!" Anko yelled from the front row.

"R-right…" I stuttered.

"SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE PLEASE!" she yelled again. I suddenly felt a bit faint.

"Uhm, Anko. I don't feel very well, may I sit down?"

"FINE! WE WILL CONTINUE NEXT TIME! MEETING ADJOURNED!" she yelled.

I literally ran off stage and looked for Hinata. I found her, looking troubled.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" She asked. I simply gestured to the two young fellows sitting near the main entrance. "Oh, I see." She nodded in understanding. Then, she stopped and looked as if she was pondering something.

"What do we do, Hinata?" I asked her. She looked around and a look of realization came across her face.

"Sakura, let's go out of the back door, behind the stage." She told me. I nodded and picked up my stuff. Then, we sneaked out the back hoping not to be noticed.

We found this giant black door backstage that we presumed to be the exit; of course, there was also the giant red exit sign above it that gave it away. Anyways, we ended up outside in the parking lot on the side of the academics building. We started walking towards the front and stopped at the corner.

"Do you see them?" I asked her. She peered around the building to the entrance and shook her head.

"Who are you looking for?" A voice asked from behind us. I jumped, startled. We turned around quickly, and there they were, Sasuke and Naruto. Dang it. I didn't hear the door open.

"How'd you guys sneak up behind us without us hearing you?" I asked pointing.

"Don't worry about that." Sasuke said, grabbing my pointed hand. I yanked my hand away glowering. He only smirked.

"Besides, I thought you couldn't stay after school, Sakura." Naruto added.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said that. I said I couldn't stay after for _cheerleading_." I assured him.

"Which seems to be a lie…" Sasuke concluded. I gaped at him.

"What makes you think this?" I asked.

"Well, you're over here sneaking around as if you've stolen something." He explained.

"Oh, what do you know!" I crossed my arms. He smirked.

"You just look kind of suspicious." Naruto added with a shrug. Then, he looked at Hinata and snapped his fingers.

"Hey, Hinata. You know someone named Neji?" He asked her. She looked confused.

"Yes, I have a cousin named Neji. How do you know him?" She asked. He grinned.

"He's on the football team!" he told her. Then a confused look became plastered on her face.

"The football team…?" she repeated. He nodded.

"Yeah, he was picked up a little while ago by his dad and his little sister, right Sasuke?" he explained. Sasuke nodded in agreement. This only made her look even more confused.

"His dad and sister…?" she asked again. Then after a moment of pondering, insight became aware on her face. "Oh! That's not his sister…" Then she suddenly looked troubled. "Oh no! I forgot!" she yelled, which was unusual for Hinata.

"What's the matter?" I asked her. She shook her head quickly.

"I have to go!" she exclaimed and ran off, across the parking lot. We stared off after her.

"Hey, she dropped something." Naruto observed. He ran over to a shiny object and picked it up. "It's her house keys." He told us. He turned around and called after her.

"Hey! Hinata, wait!" When she kept running, he sighed and ran after her. However, Sasuke and I stood there in astonishment.

"I didn't know she could run that fast." Sasuke commented. I slowly looked at him. Then, I realized something.

"She was supposed to walk home with me." Sasuke looked at me.

"Why don't you ask Ino?" He offered. I shook my head.

"Ino has to drive too many people home." I explained. Then I looked up at the sky. "Hey, what time is it?" I asked him.

"Going on 7:00." He told me. I sighed.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going before it gets dark."

"Oh, where do you live?" he asked.

"West Konoha." I answered simply. Then, his face turned from calm to unbelieving.

"You're seriously walking across town?" he asked incredulously. I shrugged.

"I gotta do what I gotta do." I told him. "Now, I'll see you later." Then I started to walk off.

"Wait, wait." He spoke, halting me. I turned to look at him again. "You don't honestly think I'm just going to let you walk across town, in the dark, alone, do you?" I sighed.

"Are you going to walk with me, Sasuke?" I asked. He smirked.

"Ha…no." I frowned. "How about I drive you home?" My face lit up.

"You have a car?" I asked. He frowned at me next.

"Yeah, but there's a catch." He told me.

"I'm listening." I replied.

"The car is at home, so we're going to have to walk to my house first." He explained to me. I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms across my chest; it was starting to get colder.

"Well, how far away is your house?" I asked.

"It's about a ten minute walk." He said, "Much shorter distance than West Konoha." He added.

"Good point." I laughed. "Well let's go then. Oh, and don't try anything, I'm more violent than I appear." I added. He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Like I'd want to do anything to you." He said and started walking. I frowned at his back and followed.

"What's that supposed to mean!" I yelled, slightly offended.

* * *

When we finally made it to his front yard, the sun had completely set. I looked at his house and my mouth literally fell open. It. Was. Huge!

We walked into the foyer and he turned on the lights. I marveled at the interior of his house as we walked in further. The outside was one thing but the inside was a whole different story!

"I'll be right back." He told me and climbed up the large black marble staircase located in the living room.

I made my way over to the large black leather sofa that circled the living room and sat down. In the center of the circle that the couch made was this glass coffee table and it was on this giant black rug that had a white and red fan on it. The Uchiha symbol, maybe? My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Sasuke's footsteps returning. I looked up at him.

"Ready?" I nodded.

* * *

Sasuke's garage was dark. The only reason I found his car was because he deactivated his car alarm. I made my way over to the passenger side and slid into the seat. I heard the driver's door open and Sasuke cranked the car up. The interior light hadn't faded yet and that's when I saw the emblem on the steering wheel.

"Oh em gee." I whispered. He looked at me.

"Hm?"

I can't believe I hadn't noticed before. I'm sitting in a 6 speed two-seater, with a drop-top, black leather seats, black carpeting, and a GPS system!

"I'm sitting in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder!" I yelled. The last thing I saw before the lights dimmed was Sasuke's smirk.

"You can tell what the exact model of the car is from only looking at the interior?" He asked. I laughed.

"Yeah, I suppose." I replied. Then, he started to back out of the garage.

"So, how come you don't drive it to school?" I asked him. Without taking his eyes from the road, he replied.

"Waste of gas. I don't want my car to get 'accidentally' scratched or dented either." I nodded (not that he could see me). He made sense, this thing looked expensive. I wonder why he would care about it getting scratched anyways; he probably had enough money to replace it easily, judging by the look of his house. His voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"What street do you live on?" He asked.

"Oh right. My address is 6654 Kunai Pointe Rd." He nodded and kept driving. The rest of the car ride was silent. The only sound I could hear was the heater blowing on my face and the hum of the engine.

We arrived at the front of my house. It looked more like a dog house compared to Sasuke's. I looked at him.

"Thanks for the ride." I told him. He nodded. "Goodnight." I told him before I got out of the car.

"Night." I heard him say. I made my way to the patio and opened the door. I turned and waved and he drove off.

"Sakura? Is that you?" I heard my mom call as I stepped through the doorway.

"Yeah. It's me." I replied. I dropped my stuff off by the door and locked it. I made my way to the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table, eating. "Hey mom." I greeted.

"Hey dear." She replied back. I looked down at her plate and made a face. She noticed this and said, "It was fish and syrup smothered with whipped cream."

"Mom, that's gross." I told her. She laughed and got up to put it in the sink.

"Sakura, if you want something to eat, there's some leftovers in the fridge." I nodded.

Then suddenly, my mom clutched her stomach and kneeled over.

"You alright mom?" I asked her. She nodded and held her hand over her mouth, then ran off towards the bathroom. I watched her and shook my head. She shouldn't have eaten that weird stuff.

I warmed up the leftovers and ate it in silence. When I finished, I looked at the clock. "8:18" It read. I decided to do my homework and then I went upstairs to take a shower.

* * *

Today was a long day. I lied down on my bed and looked on my night stand. There was a picture on it with my dad in his jounin uniform. I picked it up and looked at it.

"Hey dad." I said. "Mom and I really miss you. Hurry up and come home." I told him. Then I sat it back where it was and turned off the lights.

* * *

The next morning…

I ran out of the house with a piece of toast hanging from my mouth. "Bye mom!" I yelled and closed the door. Ino was sitting in front of the house in her little red Honda Civic. I slid into the passenger seat. "Morning Ino." I greeted.

"Hey Sakura." She greeted back and began to back out of the driveway.

Every morning, Ino came and picked me up to go to school since we live on the same side of town. Sometimes, we picked Shikamaru up too if he wasn't driving, which was usually because his mom took his car away; most of the time it was because he would say something to piss her off. However, today he didn't need a ride.

"Guess what I heard." Ino suddenly said. I turned to look at her.

"What?"

"Some of the cheerleaders said they saw Sasuke walking off school campus with some girl." I froze.

"Oh, really? Did they see who it was?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, they were too far away to identify the girl." She sighed. That was strange. I thought maybe my pink hair would've given me away for sure. If Ino knew I stayed afterschool, she'd be probably be beyond pissed with me.

"Maybe it wasn't Sasuke either." I added.

"Maybe." She agreed,"But you wanna know what else I heard?" She continued

"What?"

"I heard someone spotted his car out here in West Konoah." I choked on the air that I was breathing in. "You alright, Sakura?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah…" I told her."I wonder what he was doing out here." I replied; although, I knew very well what he was doing…

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I assumed he was driving the girl home." She told me. I pretended to be interested in what was outside my window. She sighed. "I wish I was lucky enough to catch Sasuke and get him to drive me home." She paused for a second and narrowed her eyes at me. "That girl is lucky!" She exclaimed and returned her gaze to the road. Oh no, does she know it was me?

"Yeah, from what you tell me, I bet she is." I replied. It's not that I even like the guy. Sure, he's got looks and all, but Ino is a diehard Sasuke lover. It all started when I moved to Suna for a few years. She met him at her new school and always told me about him. I never got to meet him until this year, when I moved back. He seemed pretty okay. I don't want to push it though, Ino's my best friend. And me, going for him is not going to work. However…I still worry about Shikamaru.

I bet you're wondering what Shikamaru has to do with this.

Well, Shikamaru has liked Ino for as long as I can remember. But I can never get him to confess it! I can just tell by the way he looks at her. It's like when she walks into the room, his eyes kind of…light up. Haha. It's like his whole demeanor changes and he seems more at ease when she's there. I really don't understand why. She's loud and always yelling…

I feel so bad for him because he's always had that thing for her, but she doesn't notice because she's too busy paying attention to Sasuke. I await the day that Shikamaru finally opens his mouth. Until then, Sasuke is just always going to be in the spotlight…

* * *

We arrived at the school parking lot. When she parked, we both hopped out and began to walk towards the Academics Building. It was at least 30 minutes before the bell rang. This is the period of the day where students got breakfast, studied, got tutored, finished homework, and just basically chilled out before school started. I had to arrive early because I worked in the library.

Ino and I parted ways when I entered my place of work. I went behind the checkout counter and opened the drawer, pulling out my nametag. I clipped it onto my cream sweater and got to work.

At around 6:40 ish (ten minutes later) I heard someone loudly entering the library. I looked up from the pile of books I was organizing to see that it was Naruto talking to Hinata, with Sasuke behind them.

"Dobe, be quiet, we're in the library." I heard Sasuke say. I heard Naruto do that sheepish laugh.

"Oh, right." He replied. I walked over to them

"Hey guys!" I greeted.

"Hi, Sakura!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke sighed but he waved, along with Hinata.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We just came to say hi! Me and Hinata are going to breakfast now." He grabbed Hinata's hand and began walking out of the door. "See ya later, Sakura!" I waved and turned my attention to Sasuke.

"I forgot to thank you for the ride, Sasuke." I started. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He replied. "Are you staying after today?" he asked.

"Well, I don't have to. I was planning on watching the football team practice, however." I replied. He smirked.

"Interested in seeing hot, sweaty guys, huh?" he asked. I felt my face flush.

"What? No! I just wanted to hang out with Shikamaru that's it." I replied. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Okay, Sakura." He finished. "Anyways, if you ever need a ride, don't hesitate to ask." I made a shocked face.

"Well, uh. Okay then." I replied unsure of what to say.

"I'll let you get back to work." He stated while walking out of the door. I nodded. Then, I returned to what I was doing.

* * *

"GO! FIRE LEAF, GO!"

I sat next to Shikamaru and Tenten on the sideline and I could hear the cheerleaders off in the distance. They were practicing in the field on the other side of the gym.

"Where is Naruto?" I heard Shikamaru breathe out next to me, "He's ten minutes late." He seemed anxious. He began tapping on the clipboard he was carrying with his pencil

I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards us. I looked up. It was Naruto.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was walking Hinata home." He told Shikamaru.

"Just get on the field, Naruto." Shikamaru replied. Naruto did that sheepish grin again and ran off towards Sasuke, Kiba, and…hey, wait a sec.

"Who's that guy with the long hair?" I asked. Shikamaru and Tenten looked at me.

"That's Hyuuga Neji. He's a senior and the fastest on the team." Tenten replied.

"So, that's the guy Naruto was talking about! He looks just like her." I said aloud.

"Like who?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hinata. They're cousins." I told them.

"I _did _notice a resemblance at lunch yesterday…" Tenten replied. She looked over at them again and sighed as she rested her head in her hands. I stared at her. Hm…I wonder.

"Does Neji have a girlfriend?" I asked. Tenten looked like she was about to fall off the bench! Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and said nothing.

"Wh-what?" Tenten stammered.

"I asked if Neji had a girlfriend…" I replied fighting back my laughter and her reaction.

"Why…do you ask?" she replied. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Just wondering." I replied, "He's kinda hot." I added for kicks. Tenten narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yeah, he is…single, I mean." She replied, "Too bad he's not interested in anyone right now." She added on. I like this girl, haha. Clearly, this was her territory, and she is willing to fend for it. I nodded approvingly, nice.

"Yeah, at least I know for sure now that _you're _interested in _him_." I laughed. Tenten flushed.

"Wh-what! No, I'm not!" She defended.

"Everyone knows, Mascot." Shikamaru added while patting her shoulder. She buried her face in her hands.

"Is it that obvious?" She groaned aloud, to no one in particular.

I looked up and noticed him walking over towards us. She still had her face buried in her hands.

"Yeah, Tenten, it really is. I've only seen him once and known you for two days and _I _can even tell." I told her.

"Yeah, but you're good at figuring this kinda stuff out. I mean look at what you did to Hinata yesterday!" she replied, her face still buried, "Now, I'm apprehensive to be around you and him at the same time, you may plot something!" she added.

I looked at Shikamaru and he already knew what I was thinking.

"Really? Like what?" I asked her.

"I don't know!" she groaned, "You might tell him that my head hurts and I need someone to walk me home or something!"

Neji finally made it to us.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked. Tenten shot her head up when she heard his voice.

"Her head hurts and she needs someone to walk her home." I replied. She brought it onto herself. I inwardly laughed at her mortified expression. I winked at her.

I looked up at Neji. He had a frown on his face. Not a scowl, but that kind of protective expression. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Come on Tenten, I'll walk you home." He sighed. She nodded dumbly. "Tell coach I left, okay?" Neji asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru nodded. I waved at Tenten as they walked off.

"Boy, I'm glad you've never done that to me." Shikamaru chuckled. I looked at him and shook my head.

"You've never told me who you liked." I replied…even though I already knew. He smiled.

"And I will never tell."

* * *

"-and I never saw the ending of it!" I huffed.

I was in Sasuke's car; he was driving me home again. He had been driving me home now for about three weeks. We were always laughing (Well, I laughed, Sasuke just smiled a bit.) and joking around and I found out we have a lot in common. We both liked cars, running track, basketball, science…both of our dads were jounin in the military, and we both had blonde haired, blue eyed, loudmouthed best friends… It's funny because the first time he drove me home, it was completely silent. Our conversations always ended with me telling him some story about when Ino and I were little. I was just telling him about the time Ino and I were at the movies and we had to leave because she spotted some geeky guy that liked her.

He was creepy though…Every time we went somewhere, and I mean anywhere, the movies, the mall, the bowling alley, a party; he would always be there, just standing around. She detests geeks now, all because of that one guy that stalked her in the sixth grade. I kinda don't blame her…she didn't have to take it out on all geeks because of his actions though.

* * *

"Mom, really?" I started, staring down at the contents on my plate," Spaghetti tacos?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"That's what I had the taste for." She replied simply, "Sasuke seems to like them." She added. I looked over at him; he devoured them like a lion pouncing on its prey. I shook my head at him.

The first time Sasuke ate dinner at our house, I realized that he eats like a beast! Literally!

Mom invited him in when she saw us pull up, and I witnessed the sight.

"You don't eat like this at lunch," I laughed, "But, then again, all you eat every day is a ham and cheese sandwich!" He looked up at me.

"That's all I really know how to make…and I'd rather not gamble with my life on the cafeteria food." He answered. My mom smiled at him while I slowly nibbled on my martian food.

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Haruno." I heard Sasuke say while walking towards the sink where my mom was.

"Oh, it's no problem dear. You're always welcome to have dinner with us." She replied. He was helping her wash the dishes. They got along really well. It was almost like she was _his _mom.

I finished with my plate and handed it to him.

"That actually wasn't half bad, mom." I told her.

"I told you, Sakura." She smiled at me. I stuck my tongue out at her and returned to the table.

"Well, goodnight you guys." I heard her say when they finished.

"Goodnight." We replied, and Sasuke made his way over to me and sat down.

I took the ponytail out of my hair and shook it loose.

Sasuke looked at me.

"How come you always change your hair?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Every morning, you come to school with your hair in a low, side ponytail. And by the time I see you at lunch, you have it up." He told me, "Then, when we get ready to practice for your debate, you take it down again…" he trailed off.

I picked up my glasses.

"And put on your glasses." He added.

I froze and looked up at him, with my newly framed face. This guy is very observant.

"Ino puts my hair up and takes my glasses off every day in homeroom." I told him. "I don't like the hairstyle much so I take it down when I get home, and I put my glasses on when I'm working for obvious reasons…"

"Well, why don't you tell her you don't like it?" he asked. I sighed and laid my head in my hand. Why did he have to ask these questions?

"Ino and I have been best friends since preschool." I began. "I moved to Suna the second semester of sixth grade and just moved back this summer. Ino and I have become…different. And I'm afraid if she realizes this, then we may not be much of friends anymore." I finally confessed this to someone.

"Why would that happen?" He asked, clearly confused.

"Remember that nerd guy I was telling you about in the car?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Well…in Suna, I was known as the school nerd." I winced at the memory. "And Ino definitely does NOT get along with 'nerds', 'geeks', nor 'poindexters'." I reminded him. "Because of the fact that I may possibly be a nerd…not that it matters to me if I am or not, but she may avoid me, or treat me differently or something…" I confided in him.

"Well, if she does that, then she isn't a true friend." He told me.

"But-"

"And you know that's one thing you _can't _argue with me about."

I sighed in defeat. I knew he was right, but I was just afraid…

* * *

That Saturday, Naruto, Tenten, and I were hanging out at Sasuke's house. They told me that they always hung out the Saturday before a game.

I rang the doorbell and stood at the front door. I looked down at the doorstep. There was ice everywhere! The weather here in Konoah is waaaay different from Suna. It was only the beginning of October and already, ice covered the ground. I wonder if it's gonna snow in November…

Naruto opened the door. When I walked in, I saw Tenten and waved.

"Hey, Sakura." She replied.

"How's Neji?" I smirked. She glowered at me. I laughed and looked around.

"Hey, where's Sasuke?" I asked. Naruto shrugged.

"If I had to guess, he's probably in the garage washing his car." He told me.

"Sasuke must really love that car." I thought aloud. He won't drive it to school or anywhere really, except to my house. Actually, I just saw it last night, it looked spotless.

"Sasuke must be the kind that takes care of his stuff; I mean he probably has enough cash to buy fifty more just like it…" I added.

Naruto and Tenten gave each other a look.

"Can you blame him?" I heard Naruto say, "Sasuke's mother bought him that car for his birthday…before she died last year." He added.

Whoa, wasn't expecting that one. I frowned. Maybe that's why he got along so well with my own mom. And now I see why he only eats sandwiches and when he comes to our house, he acts like he hasn't eaten in years.

"That's awful." I replied and shook my head. I walked over to the door leading to the garage and slowly opened it.

I saw him standing there looking at the car with his back towards me, clenching the water hose in his right hand. He had on a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some old black jeans.

I made my way over to him and placed my hand on his left shoulder. He looked down at me, and I looked up at him. He looked…lonely.

I pulled him into an embrace. He dropped the hose and returned my hug. And I could just feel all the heaviness in his heart being poured into me.

I just held him even tighter.

* * *

**AN: Heyyyy guys…hehe. Please don't shoot me. I know it took a loooong time to update. You see, originally, this chapter was right on schedule…however, right when I was halfway finished with it, my computer decided it wanted to get a virus and I ended up losing all of my progress and all of the files on it. After about a week, my dad decided to "fix" my computer and it worked for a little while and chapter 3 was starting up again smoothly…but then, someone broke into our house and stole my laptop! I mean seriously, I couldn't catch a break. After that I went into a long writers block. I started to type it again after a few months, but not enough to call it a chapter (nor even half a chapter). A few more months went by, and I finally got inspired and got the majority of it written. Got stuck again and went into another writers block. And now, with my new laptop I got for Christmas, I finally got enough inspiration to finish! And since it is Spring Break, my goal is to complete at least two chapters. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**PS: Writer's block is a "B"!**


	4. Recognition

** Let Your Heart Win**

**Chapter 4**

**DISCLAIMER: ASHTEABEAR (K9PUPPYG) DOES NOT OWN NARUTO**

* * *

They were everywhere.

I looked around slowly. It was dark…and quiet.

Why were they staring at me?

Hundreds of white eyes.

I heard a choked sob and looked down by my feet.

There was a little girl on the wood paneled floor, in fetal position, crying. I realized that they weren't staring at me, but at her.

I tried to reach out to her, but when I did, everything suddenly changed.

The room became brightly lit. I looked around again and I saw hundreds of people smiling at me with welcoming faces…and white eyes.

I felt a tug on my pants and looked back down.

"Hi, mister!" the same girl happily greeted to me.

It was as if nothing ever happened.

My breath hitched when I realized-

This kid…was none other than a young Hyuuga Hinata.

* * *

**NARUTO**

"I'M ON TIME KAKASHI!"

I looked around. Everybody looked up at me, and then turned back to what they were doing. I frowned. Kakashi wasn't even in here yet. I shrugged and strolled over to my usual seat, next to Sasuke.

"You do realize that Kakashi is always the last one to come in, right?" Sasuke asked me when I sat down. Hm, now that I think about it, I always make it before he does, even if I'm _extremely_ late…

"I guess I didn't notice." I chuckled and scratched my head. Sasuke shook his.

"Why are you always late anyways? You get here thirty minutes before the bell rings." He asked.

I looked at him.

"I think I'm cursed." I told him seriously. He raised an eyebrow.

"Cursed?" He repeated. I nodded.

"Yeah!" I yelled, "Every locker that I get assigned to jams up after a week. I can't get 'em open!" I told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's been happening to me ever since we had that Fall School Carnival last year." I told him, "I'd get a locker, a couple of weeks go by and it jams up. They assign me to a new one, and the process repeats itself." I explained.

"Hm, I do think I remember you getting transferred in 10th grade," he said, "Our lockers used to be next to each other."

I smiled at the memory, the good days…Then, I sighed.

"Then, the dreadful cycle began." I told him miserably.

"Wait." He said suddenly. "Didn't you get into a fight with Kiba at that carnival?" he asked.

"Hey, yeah!" I yelled.

I remembered that night. Kiba was at a carnival booth with a couple of upperclassman girls, showing off…as usual.

* * *

**Flashback** (**WARNING: Parenthesis overkill.)**

"_I can get it for you." Kiba told one of the girls he was hanging out with. She had long, beautiful, ebony hair and sparkling green eyes._

_They were simply walking by the game booth where you had to knock down the milk bottles with a ball when he saw her admiring this large, stuffed, baby blue elephant adorned with a pink bowtie hanging from the booth._

_She beamed, and her friends giggled (There were three others, two blondes, and a brunette.) when he stepped over to the man running the booth (he had a moustache) and paid him. As the man with the moustache was giving Kiba his ammo (aka throwing balls), Kiba caught sight of Naruto coming out of a nearby port-a-potty. _

"_Hey Uzumaki! Come watch me dominate this game!" he yelled. Naruto walked over while Kiba was flexing his "muscles". Naruto raised his eyebrows._

"_I bet I could get a higher score in this than you can, Kiba." Naruto challenged. Kiba stopped his "warm ups"._

"_Is that a challenge, Uzumaki?"_

"_Well, yeah. I mean, if you go back three sentences, it does say 'Naruto challenged'." He replied as a matter of factly. The girls all looked at each other knowingly._

"_Well, let's go then!" Kiba yelled, pumped._

_A few seconds later…_

_Kiba sat there with his mouth wide open. Naruto knocked down every single bottle in the booth, even Kiba's , with only one ball! Naruto scratched the back of his head as the (barely alive) moustache man handed Naruto the prize he (randomly) pointed to (which happened to be the baby blue, pink bowtie elephant)._

_Naruto didn't really want it, what did he need girly stuffed animals for? …He was a man! So, he just gave it to the nearest girl. (The one with the black hair and green eyes…she walked up behind him.)_

_She giggled and squeaked out a "Thank you." before kissing him on the cheek which turned to a pinkish hue. He chuckled sheepishly while muttering an,_

"_Oh, heh. It was uh, nothing." He scratched the back of his head. She giggled again at his antics and returned back to her friends._

"_He's so cute!" One of the blondes commented after they said "Goodbye."_

_Naruto simply waved._

_Kiba (who was now beyond pissed) sent a flying punch towards Naruto's jaw. Naruto staggered backwards._

"_Hey! What the hell man!" Naruto yelled, enraged. Kiba growled with his teeth bared and attacked again. This time, Naruto fought back._

**End Flashback**

"Security had to come break us up…" I said aloud. I looked at Sasuke. "You think I'm cursed because of that fight?" He scoffed.

"Yeah, if a dog loving guy with two fresh tattoos on his face is what you call a curse." He replied. I blinked.

"You don't think?" I started. He shrugged.

"It was just a thought." He replied. I turned around in my seat and clenched my fists under my desk. If Kiba is the one messing with my lockers, I SWEAR I kick his ass _again_! Believe it! I will!

* * *

Monday.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but we can't keep transferring you to new lockers and have them tampered with."

"But, it's not my fault!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry, kid."

I sighed, picking up my books, and walked out of the guidance counselor's office. Iruka was kind enough to pop it open with a crowbar. Sadly, now the locker has to be replaced, and I am lockerless.

I wobbled down the student filled hall carrying my stack of books towards my first class of the day. What am I gonna do now? I guess I could always use my gym locker, but that's all the way in another building!

Someone accidentally bumped into my shoulder, and I heard them mutter a "Sorry." while I regained my balance.

"Um, are you- do you need some help?" I heard a soft voice ask. I looked up and saw Hinata standing just a few inches away by an open locker.

"Uh…nah. I'm okay. Just trying to figure out where to put these books." I told her gesturing to my load.

"Don't you have a locker?" she asked.

"No, they won't give me one." She paused, looking at me before continuing.

"Why?" I sighed.

"It's a long story." I told her, while slumping my shoulders. She looked at me for another moment, before walking over to me and picking up two books from the top of the stack.

"Well, let's put them in mine for now." She said slowly, silently asking if it was okay with _me_. I raised my head and looked at her.

"You serious?" I asked. She looked back at me and gave a small smile.

"Of course." She replied while walking back towards her locker and placing her stack inside.

"Thanks a bunch, Hinata! I really owe you one!" I told her while placing the rest of my books into her locker. I was surprised they all fit, but her locker was so _organized _that slid in with no problem. There was even extra room!

"It's fine." She replied while carefully closing the door and replacing the lock. "The combination is 10-12-22." I nodded.

"I gotcha." I squeezed her. "Thanks again!" She smiled.

* * *

End of the day.

Hinata and I were walking back to her locker from the gym and we saw Kiba standing there. My insides burned at the sight of him.

"Hey, Hinata." He greeted while leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Hello, Kiba." She greeted back. I flinched slightly.

"You know him?" I asked incredulously. She looked at me and nodded.

"Yes." She proceeded to open her locker.

"So, how was your day?" he asked, smiling at her. Disgusting.

"It was fine. How was yours?"

"It got better once I got to see you again." He answered.

"Oh, buzz off Kiba." I told him. He stood up straight and finally acknowledged my presence.

"Why are you here?" he asked, agitation clear in his voice.

"Minding my own business." I spat at him.

"Please don't fight here." Was the soft voice of Hinata. I had forgotten she was even standing there. My gaze fell to her downturned lips and I instantly felt like crap.

"Only for you, Hinata." I heard Kiba say. He looked at me and then smirked. "See you at practice, Uzumaki." Then he walked off.

* * *

"Sorry about that, Hinata." I told her while we were walking down the sidewalk. She shook her head.

"It's okay."

"That guy just irks me. I should've saved it for the field."

"Saved it for the field?" she asked curiously, while looking at me.

"Yeah, I get to pound him and it's socially acceptable." I said while punching my hand with my fist. She giggled. My insides felt warm. "I wish you could come and watch us at practice. It's a lot of fun." She sighed.

"Well, I'm grounded…" She said quietly, I almost didn't hear her. I stopped in my tracks. She stopped too and turned to look at me. "What?"

"You?"

"Me, what?"

"You, grounded?" I pointed at her.

"Uh, yes?"

"Impossible!"

"It's the truth."

"Wow, I'm shocked." I told her and proceeded to walk. She continued as well. As we were walking, my mind went back to a few weeks ago, the day I chased after Hinata to her home.

**Flashback**

"_Geez, that girl can move!" Naruto said to no one in particular. As he was catching his breath, he slowly approached the front door of the Hyuugas'. Naruto could hear a deep voice behind the door yelling. He raised his hand to ring the doorbell and before he could press it, a voice startled him from the other side of the door._

"_Who's there?" The two simple words sent a chill down Naruto's spine._

"_Uh-uhm. I'm Hinata's classmate, Naruto Uzumaki." He replied. The door opened slowly, revealing Neji._

"_Uzumaki?" Naruto blinked. "What are you doing here?" Neji asked while leaning on the doorframe. His white eyes pierced into Naruto's soul._

"_Hinata…she uh, dropped this." He replied, holding out her keys to him. Neji took them and glanced behind him before closing the door and stepping outside._

_They stood in silence for a few moments, much to Naruto's dismay, before Neji spoke._

"_Listen Uzumaki. I wouldn't advise you to hang around Hinata." He told him._

"_What? Why not?" Naruto was confused._

"_If you're smart, you'll listen to me. You'll be having a lot of unnecessary trouble if you don't." And with that, Neji returned into the house._

**End Flashback**

* * *

"Good work last Friday against Lightning High School guys! This week we're going up against the Sound. Let's get to work!" Coach then blew his whistle and the team split up into offense and defense. I was on the special team. In other words, the only time I got in the game was when we kicked off the ball. However, maybe this Friday I'll be able to get in the game. I just need to convince Coach Asuma.

My thoughts were cut short by the loud cackling of the dogboy.

"Man! I'd have to take her home and have her brush Akamaru for me. She seems to like him a lot. And then afterwards, we could have a little fun of our own!" he laughed nudging Chouji in his ribs. Chouji just silently glared at him.

"What are you even talking about?" Chouji asked, annoyed.

"You know! Hinata and her nice rack!" Kiba replied.

"What?" I blurted out, not believing what I was hearing.

"Oh, what? Hinata and her tatas?"

I lost it.

"You worthless piece of shit! Don't ever speak about Hinata that way or I will personally kick your ass!" I exclaimed. This only gave me even more reason to despise him. Kiba is just asking for it.

"I knew you liked her." Was his snide reply, "What makes you think you would even have a chance with her? She'd be much better off with me." Kiba smirked. By this time a little crowd had formed. I was about to say more but, I felt that chill once again traveling down my spine as I heard a deep voice say,

"No one is getting involved with Hinata." Yes, it was Neji. "Get back to practice." He ordered. Everyone complied, not wanting to get involved with the intimidating Hyuuga.

* * *

"Sasuke, I need to be in this game on Friday."

Sasuke was sleeping over at my apartment. He usually slept over if he was feeling alone at his house. It was one of those things we never spoke of. Or else I'd drop dead on the spot, of course. "How can I convince coach to put me in?" I asked, looking down at him from my bed.

"Well, for starters. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to stay out of fights." He replied.

"What are you talking about? I haven't been in a fight this month yet!" He simply shook his head.

"All I'm saying is stop letting Kiba get to you. If you get suspended, you're automatically out." And with that, he put his covers over his head.

* * *

Next Day.

Tuesday.

Hinata and I were walking out of the school building and there he was, standing alongside Shino.

_Don't let him get to you Naruto. Don't let him get to you._

"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba called.

"Hello Kiba, Shino." She greeted.

"Hey Naruto." Kiba said to me. I ignored him.

"Sup Shino." I said. Hinata turned and looked at me, eyes wide with disbelief.

"…and dogbo-"Hinata nudged me, "ahem, I mean Kiba."

* * *

"Why are you so mean to Kiba?" Hinata asked, "J-just wondering." She added quickly.

"He's not a person who deserves my kindness." I told her honestly. If only she knew the Kiba I knew. "Look, Hinata. I'm not going to tell you who you can't be friends with, but promise me you'll be careful around him. The guy is bad news." I subconsciously felt the need to protect Hinata.

"I don't see why you feel this way." She told me stubbornly.

"Hinata!"

"Fine. Fine. I promise."

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

* * *

"Mmm…Love that Hinata." Kiba mumbled while walking by me at practice. I was about to open my mouth and tell him off, but I caught sight of Sasuke giving me an expectant look. I swallowed my pride, and simply glared down at the undeserving grass.

* * *

Wednesday.

"Hey, Hinata." Kiba grinned in her face, once again.

"Hello, Kiba." Then, he looked at me.

"Hey, Naruto." I felt Hinata's hand patting me on my shoulder, encouraging me to _be nice_, as she puts it. I audibly sighed and gritted my teeth.

"Hello…Kiba." Kiba had this stupid smug look on his face.

* * *

"If you weren't there Hinata, I probably would've punched him in the face." I told her while we were walking towards her house. She gasped. I shrugged. "I'm glad you were though, because I want to be in the game on Friday." I looked up at the sky and an idea fell upon me. "Hey! If you were there during practice with me I would feel a whole lot safer."

"I would but…I'm grounded, remember?" Aw man, that's right.

"What are you grounded for, and how long?" I asked her.

"Uh…well, I…I don't know if I should tell you." She replied looking down at her shoes.

"You don't have to be embarrassed Hinata, I get in trouble all the time!" I grinned, hopefully making the situation easier for her. She smiled and looked at me.

"I'll tell you after your game on Friday. I don't want you to be distracted." She told me seriously.

"It's that bad?"

She sighed and nodded.

* * *

"Uzumaki! C'mere a sec!" Coach's thunderous voice yelled after everyone separated.

"Yeah, Coach?" I asked when I reached him.

"Listen, I've been watching you, and I am very moved by the hard work you've been putting into practice and your studies. I want you to play against the Sound this Friday. Sound good?" he finished. My mouth dropped open.

"YESS!" I leaped for joy and hugged the poor man. "I won't let you down coach!" I heard his deep chuckle as I ran off to find Sasuke standing near Sakura and Mascot. "Dude!" I yelled, almost running into him.

"Watch it, dobe!" I ignored him.

"Sasuke! Coach is putting me in the game on Friday! He told me!" I yelled. Sasuke simply smirked.

"Did he now?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"You said something to him didn't you?" He shrugged.

"Did I?" I almost hugged the man.

"Dude! You are a freakin life saver! I owe you one BIG time!"

"Awe! Congratulations Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Don't screw up Naruto!" Tenten added.

"Thanks guys." I laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah, Naruto. Don't screw up; Hinata already thinks you're a loser." I heard Kiba laugh, and walk off.

Everyone looked at me. I wasn't even fazed. His words flew over my head because all I could think about was the expression on Hinata's face when I told her the news!

* * *

Thursday.

Hinata, Sasuke, and I still met up in front of his house to walk to school together. I was on my way there, practically skipping and then I saw her long, dark hair in the distance and sprinted.

"Hinata!" I called. She turned around and saw me running.

"Good morning-ahh!" she yelped. I picked her up in a bear hug and swung her around.

"I'm in the game!" I told her grinning like a mad man. She gasped when I put her down and exclaimed,

"Oh, Naruto! I'm so happy for you! I knew you would be in it!" I looked down at her lightly tinted cheeks that were slightly raised from her smile.

"Thanks, Hinata." I told her seriously, then I hugged her again, "You've helped me more than you know." Hinata's calm demeanor inspired me to be more like her. Whenever I felt my temperature rising, I just pictured the expression that would be on her face if I acted a donkey.

In all honesty, I'd never even held a girl this close before. She was soft and fragile. I almost felt like I was gonna break her. And she smelled so good… The scent of her hair wafted into my nostrils. It smelled so sweet that I couldn't help but take a whiff of it…

Hinata slowly stepped back from my embrace and eyed me warily. "You're not uhm…sick…are you?" she asked. The tint on her face darkened another hue as she sputtered out her sentence and turned her gaze towards the ground.

Oh gawd, I just sniffed Hinata's hair! Now she probably thinks I'm a freak. I started babbling.

"It-it wasn't what you think! I was just uh-"I was ever so thankful that the _click _sound of Sasuke emerging from his house cut me off.

"Let's go." He said.

* * *

The whole walk on the way to school was awkward, and silent. Sasuke didn't seem to mind though, that bastard.

Anyways, the tension eventually decreased and Hinata and I were back to our old selves. We were at her locker talking as usual. Then, I heard someone call my name accompanied with a shiver traveling down my spine. It was Neji.

I turned to face him, and he motioned for me to come over.

"I'll be right back, Hinata." I told her.

"Okay."

I slowly made my way across the hall to him. What could he possibly want with me?

"What's up?" I asked casually when I made it over to him. He looked across the hall, where Hinata was, busy inside her locker, then returned his gaze to me.

"Do you know how much danger you're putting yourself in?" he asked. I already knew what this was about. Apparently Hinata is some kind of "trouble magnet". Whatever.

"Danger? I've been hanging around Hinata for two months now and nothing has gone wrong." I replied. Neji's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Hm…" Neji murmured looking over at Hinata again. "Okay, look," he began still looking across the hall, "You're the closest person to her, and I can't keep my eyes on her as often as I would like to. So, if anything goes wrong come to me. Understand?"

"Like what?" I asked. Neji sighed.

"You'll understand soon enough. Just promise me." I shrugged.

"Fine."

"Good. I'm leaving this in your hands now."

* * *

It was after breakfast and I was walking Hinata to homeroom.

"Aren't you going to be late?" she asked as we got to her class.

"Nah, I'm never late." I told her, which was technically true. I was brought out of my thoughts as I heard Hinata's name being called. We turned around and saw Anko, the girl's gym teacher.

"There you are." She started. Wow, it's weird to hear her speaking normally. "I wanted to know if you could help with the debate club's float for the homecoming parade."

"I really would like to, but I am on punishment. That's why I haven't been coming to the meetings lately." She explained.

"Aw, oh well. It's fine." Then she spotted someone else down the hall and took off after them. "THERE YOU ARE! YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER NARA!"

"Wonder what she wants with him." I said to no one in particular. I shook the thought and turned back to Hinata. "Well, I'll see you later." I told her. She smiled and nodded. I was about to turn around and go to class, but I stopped when I heard a guy say,

"Hey, Hinata."

No way, it can't be.

I looked into the window on the door, and yes, it was…dogboy. That guy has her homeroom! No wonder they know each other!

I slowly walked to my own homeroom class, brooding. Knowing that Kiba was in her class pestered the hell outta me. Ugh. And to make things worse, Sasuke wasn't even in class yet to listen to me complain about it! The nerve!

Wait a sec.

Sasuke is always in class before me. What's going on here? I was about to have a panic attack, but he walked in the door.

"Dude? Where were you? I was about to freak out over here!" I told him when he sat in his desk.

"I was just helping Sakura move some stuff from the school's storage into the library."

"Ohh…" Then, Kakashi walked into the door.

"Yo." He nonchalantly waved and sat at his desk. He propped his feet up and started reading this orange book. Then, the announcements came on.

"Goooood Morning Fire Leaf High!" My mind was focused on the scratches on my wooden desk while she read through the boring stuff. Then, she caught my attention when she said, "And now for our sports announcements. This week, our football team will be playing against Sound High School. Catch the JV game tonight in our stadium. Kickoff is at 7 and admission is free. Our varsity team will be playing tomorrow night in our stadium. Kickoff is at 7 and admission for students is $3.00 with an ID. All outside admission is $5.00."

My adrenaline was pumped, this is my big break! I looked at Sasuke, he looked bored. I guess he was already used to being in games. Granny Tsunade continued with the announcements.

"There will be no Debate Club meeting this afternoon." She paused and you could hear the sound of paper flipping on the intercom. "Now, here's the captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, Yamanaka Ino." Ino's the captain of the varsity squad? Dang, she must be good since this is her first year on the team. Then, I heard her cheery voice as she spoke over the intercom.

"Good Morning Fire Leaf High! I am Yamanaka Ino! You're cheer captain! As you all know, Spirit Week is in two weeks, and we will be crowning our new homecoming court at the dance! So, if you would like to have a shot at being crowned royalty, go fill out the application forms from Kurenai in room 65-C and start your campaign! The Spirit Week festivities will be announced on Monday of next week! And now, back to Lady Tsunade!"

"Thanks Ino. That concludes our announcements. Have a great day."

There was a popping sound indicating that the speakers turned off, and then the class began to talk.

"Homecoming is in two weeks." I heard Sasuke say. I looked at him oddly, he was staring down at his desk. Since when did Sasuke care about homecoming?

"Yeah, so?"

"I don't have a date." Was Sasuke's reply.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke?" I asked him through narrowed eyes.

"I'm serious!" He hissed. I simply shook my head.

"I'm pretty sure you can find one easy enough." I told him. It was the truth.

"It's not that simple." He replied. Then, the bell rang.

* * *

Gym.

I glared, and I glared hard. I glared so hard that a fire could spontaneously combust. I wanted holes to be bored into his skull.

Kiba. He was hanging around Hinata like a stalkerish psycho.

"Burning with jealousy, young Naruto?" I heard someone say from my right. I looked. It was Rock Lee in all his bowl cut glory.

"No, I just don't like the way he looks at her like she's a piece of meat." I told him.

"Ah, you must protect your youthful flower."

"Exactly!" I nodded. I paused, registering what he just said. "Wait, she's not my youthful flower."

"Whatever you say, my young Naruto." I looked at him from the corner of my eye. Suddenly remembering the flock of girls Lee was constantly surrounded by.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Rock Lee?" I asked, curiously.

"No."

"Are you gay?"

"What! No!" I stood up straight.

"Then, how come you have women surrounding you all the time, and out of all those women, you don't find _any _of them interesting?" I asked, finally. He laughed.

"Oh, young Naruto. They are merely my friends. My heart belongs to one woman who hasn't even noticed my existence."

"Wow, I just thought you were gay." He sighed in exasperation. "If I were you, I'd take advantage of the opportunity." I continued.

"Oh, young Naruto. When you're in love you'll understand that the attention of a million women couldn't compare to that of your love."

"Whatever man." I told him. He was beginning to sound like a chick flick. Then, I just thought of something. "Aren't you a senior?" I asked. He nodded. "Then, why are you in a junior class?"

"Free period. Besides, my lady has this class." He shrugged.

"Who's that?" I asked.

Suddenly, Sakura came over.

"Hey Naruto!" She spotted Rock Lee and asked, "Who's your friend?"

"Uh. Uhm." Rock Lee began to stammer. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"This is Rock Lee."

"Oh, hi!" She greeted.

"Uh…hehe. Hi-uhm." What's wrong with him?

Sakura's attention was back to me.

"So, Naruto! Did Sasuke tell you that we're meeting at my house afterschool?" she asked.

"No, I have to walk Hinata home though." I told her.

"Oh okay, we'll just meet up after at Sasuke's then!" she replied.

"Okay, cool!"

"See ya afterschool then! Nice meeting you Rock Lee!" She smiled then skipped off. Someone's been hyped up on sugar today. I turned back to Rock Lee, remembering our conversation.

"So, who's this girl?" I asked him.

"Oh, young and dense Naruto."

"Whaaaaat? Who is it?" The coaches started blowing their whistles.

"I will tell you the next time we meet." He replied.

* * *

By Hinata's Mailbox.

"I really wish you weren't grounded, Hinata. This might be the only game I play in." Hinata frowned.

"Don't say that," she started, "You'll play in others, I'm sure of it." She wrapped her arms around my torso and laid her head on my chest. I resisted the urge to sniff her hair again.

"You should sneak out to see the game." I murmured, returning her embrace.

"Oh, Naruto…"

"Just a suggestion!"

Honk! Honk!

Hinata and I jumped apart at the sound. I looked, and there was Sasuke's car. I glared at the tinted window.

Hinata looked at me red in the face and I laughed. She was adorable.

"See ya tomorrow then?" I said. She nodded and smiled.

"Good luck on your game." She said finally, and then she went inside. I started walking to the car…but, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked back at Hinata's house, and saw a curtain in one of the windows move. Weird. I shrugged it off and got into the backseat.

"I see why you were taking so long to get back." Sakura said, turned around facing me and giggled. I glared at Sasuke's smirk that I saw from the mirror.

I ignored them and looked out the window, watching Hinata's retreating house.

* * *

"So, why am I here again?" I asked.

"My mother wanted you to come over for dinner." Sakura answered.

"Why-"

"We were told about your ramen obsession." Sakura interrupted. My gaze wandered over to Sasuke in the kitchen with Sakura's mom, washing dishes. Sakura and I were sitting at the dining room table. I turned back to look at her and she was also looking in the direction of the kitchen. A little too long.

"Why are you staring at him?" I asked Sakura. She jumped.

"Wh-what?" She stammered. I smirked.

"You were staring at Sasuke's butt!" I exclaimed, pointing at her.

"Shh!" She shushed me, "No, I wasn't!" The guilt etched across her face told me otherwise.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "Uh huh… Suuuuure." I teased. She grew even redder from embarrassment. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you _liked _Sasuke." She glared at me.

I ducked from the pencil being chucked at my head. I laughed.

"It's okay Sakura, you can admit it! He might even like you too!" I barked.

"The way you like Hinata?" was her quick response. I immediately stopped laughing.

"What?" I blurted out. Her face spread in a triumphant grin.

"You heard me, Naruto." She replied.

"That is in no way the same thing." I hissed at her.

"What's not the same thing?" I heard Sasuke say while coming towards the table.

"Oh, the way Sakura- Ow!" Sakura threw an eraser while I wasn't looking.

"Oh, nothing!" She laughed. I glared at her and rubbed my temple, where the eraser had struck.

Sasuke eyed us both before settling with a "Hn." Then Sakura's mom walked in. My gaze wandered over to her, and my hand slowly dropped from my face.

Sakura's mother was gorgeous.

She had a short pink bob and bright blue eyes. The warm smile that lit up her face was contagious as I slowly found my own cheeks rising.

I had only caught a glimpse of her when we walked into the house. She let out a "Welcome home."-when she heard the door open and after that, her mother had her back turned in the kitchen the whole time.

Het crystal blue eyes flicked over to me and realization struck her features. "You must be Naruto! Excuse me for not properly saying hello. I didn't realize you'd be coming over tonight."

I let out a sheepish laugh. "Oh, it's nothing." I replied. I caught Sakura eyeing me oddly from the corner of my eye. Her mother let out a sigh of relief and replied,

"Oh, good. Let me just get an extra plate." Sasuke stood up.

"I'll help you." He said and followed her back into the kitchen.

"What was that?" I heard Sakura hiss. I looked back over to her.

"Huh?" What was her deal?

"I saw you _ogling _my mother!" My cheeks warmed.

"Don't try to put this on me!" I hissed back over the table. "I saw _you _checking out Sasuke's butt!"

"No I wasn't! I was looking at my mother!" she banged on the table for emphasis. I straightened in my chair.

"That's gross Sakura." I said blankly.

"Shut up!" She hissed again. She looked back over to the kitchen. "My mom has just been moving a lot slower lately-" the pang of a pot lid hitting the floor in the distance sounded, cutting Sakura off, "-and she drops a lot of stuff." She added.

I looked over at the kitchen and saw Sasuke grabbing the lid off the floor before returning my gaze to Sakura.

"Maybe she's just getting old." I shrugged. Another eraser pelted me in the center of my forehead.

I glared at her again.

* * *

Game Day.

The distant roar of cheering echoing in the stadium had my adrenaline racing throughout my body. It was the third quarter and I hadn't been placed into the game _yet. _I was sitting on the edge of my seat on the sidelines watching as my teammates struggled to gain the lead from the other team. It was 28 to 28.

Every time we scored, they scored. Every time they scored, we scored. This game was neck and neck and we couldn't seem to break free from the tie.

I groaned from the sideline in irritation.

"Hey, is that Gaara?" I heard one of the cheerleaders ask from behind me, breaking my concentration. My ear twitched. Gaara?

"Oh my, gosh it really _is _him!" The same cheerleader gasped.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a redheaded cheerleader with the uniform green and gold ribboned ponytail pointing to the crowd when another brunette cheerleader asked, "Where?" my gaze followed in the direction she was pointing, and there, in fact, was the red headed, green eyed character known as Gaara sitting in the bleachers next to his posse known as The Sand Siblings. The Sand Siblings were composed of Tamari, the blonde girl with the pigtails, and Kankuro, the one with the hood on his head and tribal markings on his face. My eyebrows rose in shock as I turned back around.

What is Gaara doing here? I wondered.

Gaara is a football player on our rival schools team, Suna Sands High School. Gaara has been my nemesis ever since I first saw him play in 9th grade against our schools varsity team. He was so good! He was quick, his throws were perfect, he never missed a pass, _and _he could easily evade oncoming players. And to make matters worse, he was _always _making interceptions, meaning he could be used for both offense _and _defense. He had _no _weaknesses skill wise! I've been waiting for the day where I would play against him, and surpass him in skill!

"Uzumaki."

Coach's voice brought me out of my reverie. I looked up at him and he nodded at Playmaker who was standing near me. Playmaker looked down at me and said,

"You're up."

* * *

This was it.

Our last down. We had 60 more yards to a touchdown because of a few _slip-ups._ I looked up at the clock with only 11 seconds left and the scores were still even. This was the last chance to break the tie, or we had to go into overtime.

"It's time for The Play," Sasuke announced, while in this huddle. He looked at me through his helmet. "You're up." Everyone's attention was on me.

Break!

The first whistle blew and I was running over everything Playmaker had told me during the break between quarters.

"_Make sure you stay behind Sasuke until he passes you the ball."_

Goosebumps traveled up my arms as I crouched on the line. I looked up at the 28 displayed on Sasuke's Jersey in front of me. "Uchiha" was spread across the top.

"_Run down their side of weakness, their right, your left."_

My heart thudded in my chest as I heard the referee's blow their whistles again.

"_Try to stay near either Kiba or Neji and maneuver around the traffic." _

I looked up and saw Neji and Kiba out to the left.

"_And remember, the most_ important _thing to do is_ outrun everyone_ on the field."_

The _fweet _of the whistle rang in my ears as everyone around me began to move. I stayed behind Sasuke until he saw an opening and he discreetly passed me the ball as he broke right. We both took off to opposite sides of the field.

I looked up and I actually couldn't believe it!

The majority of the other team that wasn't already on the ground went _chasing _after Sasuke!

My heart pounded against my chest as I realized that the weight of this game drastically shifted to me as I heard some of the Sound players yell, "27 HAS THE BALL!"

My adrenaline rushed as I tried to figure out where Kiba and Neji were.

"Oof!" I heard one of the Sound players yell, as someone knocked him out of my path. From my peripheral vision, I could see it was Neji. I grimaced as I ran even harder, the end zone only a few more yards…

"GOTCHA!" I heard someone leaping from behind me.

"Wah-!" I yelped as I shook my foot loose and stumbled on some more. My blood was pumping in my ears as I finally treaded across the line and into the end zone.

"YEAHHH!" I screeched as I jumped around. My teammates finally caught up to me and they jumped too!

"WE WON!" We all chanted. I could clearly hear the roar of the fans in the distance that I didn't even register before when I was running. But who cares! The Play actually WORKED!

"What an astonishing turn of events! Konoah Leaf High, touchdown on the last play made by Number 27…Uzumaki Naruto?" I heard the announcer say over the loudspeakers. The fans roared even louder. I lost my balance as my teammates tossed me in the air. For the first time ever, things were starting to look up.

* * *

"Nice game, Naruto." I heard a guy say while I was walking down the sidewalk. I had just gotten out of the locker rooms and the game was well over with by at least 30 minutes. Some people stood around in the parking lot waiting on their rides, or talking.

"Good game, Naruto." Another girl congratulated. I smiled at her.

"Thanks." I replied, scratching the back of my head. I had never held so much recognition before. The look on Hinata's face when she hears what happens. I grinned to myself even more.

Then, I saw him. Gaara.

I stopped in my tracks as I noticed he was looking at me in a challenging way. We held each other's gazes for a while, before I broke out into a smirk.

Things were definitely looking up. I said to myself as I continued through the parking lot. A lot of people congratulated me and I couldn't help but feel as though I was swimming on air.

However, as I continued walking towards my apartment, I noticed something odd. Usually, I passed by a deserted bus stop. But, someone was sitting there. I squinted as I moved closer to the spot, trying to decipher the silhouette of the person.

"Hinata?" I blurted out when I got closer. I came to a stop and looked at her just to be sure. She turned to look up at me with her pearl colored eyes. She opened her mouth and quietly, she answered,

"Naruto?"

* * *

**AN: Hey guys. Here's chapter 4. The ending was fun to write. I am so slow with these updates, I'm sorry guys. But this story **_**will **_**be completed. No doubt. Anyways, there's a bit more Naruhina in this chapter and the beginning of the next, however, after that will be loads of Sasusaku. Oh also, if you haven't noticed by now, the POV changes in every chapter, but to make things less confusing, I put who's POV at the top. And oh, one more thing, is anyone willing to be my beta reader? But anyways, for an extra treat to all those who have been ever so patient with me:**

**Next time on L.Y.H.W. :D**

"I would be miserable if I had to listen to Ino complain all day too!" Naruto replied, shrugging his shoulders. I sighed.

"…Uhm, No…Naruto…" I barely managed to get out.

"That's the only thing I can think of." He said as his eyes closed to slits. I took a deep breath, as I prepared myself for the next sentence. Looking over at their table again, I replied slowly,

"He's not miserable because of that…" I watched Shikamaru offer Ino his only muffin. Then my gaze wandered back over to Naruto, and I confidently added, "He loves her."

"WHAT?"


	5. Where Are You Going?

**Let Your Heart Win**

**Chapter 5**

**DISCLAIMER: ASHTEABEAR DOES NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**HINATA**

"Hinata?" I heard a male voice call my name. I looked to my right and saw Naruto in an orange jumpsuit, with a gym bag.

"Naruto?" I whispered in response.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked me, his eyebrows risen in genuine surprise.

'What are you doing out here?' It was a simple question that had a lot of substance. What am I, a junior in high school, a minor, a 16 year old, doing outside at a deserted bus stop at twelve thirty in the morning? The tone in his voice led me to believe that he knew that something was not quite right. I prepared myself for what was coming. I lowered my eyelids as I responded,

"I'm waiting on the bus."

"The bus? You're not going home?" he asked. I shook my head. "Where are you going?" He sat down next to me, sitting his gym bag on his lap.

Why Naruto? Why must you ask these questions that I have to cautiously answer? I must keep my guard up, and remain in my Hyuuga calm. It's probably one of the things that I inherited from my family that's actually useful. It's a way to keep myself from standing out. If I keep to myself, and my demeanor is neutral, then others may not suspect that I am troubled.

"Come on. I'll take you home." He said while standing up, holding out his arm. He must've taken my silence for an answer. I shook my head again. He lips dropped into a frown, and he plopped back onto the bench. "Well, you can't just sit out here!" he exclaimed.

"I'll be fine. I promise." I told him, I forced myself to show a little smile. As if my false assuredness would appease him. He heaved a sigh.

"Hinata." He said sternly. My fingers flinched slightly in surprise. I've never heard Naruto say anything, especially not my name, so seriously. "Why aren't you going home?" He asked again.

I frowned.

It seems as though Naruto won't settle for lame excuses.

"I have a place to go."

"Where? I'll go with you." He pried.

"It's… almost one in the morning." I tried.

"My point exactly." He replied.

"You're not tired?"

"Hinata! You can sit out here and play these games with me all night. But I'm telling you right now that I am not leaving you alone until I know that you are safe." He said finally.

I looked at him again, his posture was so rigid, and his eyes stared straight ahead of him across the street. He didn't look at me at all. Was he upset? My chest began to get heavy. Why are we having this conversation? Why did it have to be now? Why with Naruto?

I felt my mask slipping away as I brought my knees up to my chest and curled up into a ball.

"I just _can't _tell you Naruto. I just can't." I said finally. I don't know why I was acting this way. I guess I've never had to evade anyone before though. I've never had anyone to actually come up to me and ask me questions, and pry for an answer. Usually the Hyuuga calm worked enough so that I could keep everyone at a distance.

Naruto was quiet for a moment, as if he was pondering his thoughts. Then, after a while he finally spoke.

"Can you tell me why you're not going home at least?"

"I can't." He dropped his head in response. "I can't go home. I mean…I'm locked out."

He raised his head again and looked at me.

"You lost your keys?"

I slowly shook my head as I was deciding whether I should continue…or would I be saying too much? I turned to look at him again, and when I did, I immediately regretted it. Naruto was still looking at me.

Naruto's eyes… they were the most gorgeous things that I have ever laid sight upon. They weren't just any old shade of blue. Cerulean just didn't quite capture the color I saw. His eyes… they contained depths untold and mischief and wonder. Naruto's eyes, I looked at my reflection in them and I let out a small sigh. I just adored them…

He placed his hand on mine that was resting on the bench. A sudden wave of realization hit me as I noticed how close we were actually sitting.

"You can trust me, Hinata." My eyes slightly widened. "Don't you know that you can tell me what's going on with you? I promise I will keep everything between us." I dropped my head down to look at our hands. He was slowly creeping in, and I knew it was going to happen.

"My father…" I let out a shaky sigh and continued, "-he kicked me out. He had the locks changed." I closed my eyes and I felt the sting of impending tears forming beneath my eyelids. Why was I about to cry? I've been through this many times before, it's nothing different. I guess it was just the fact that I actually said it out loud and I heard it for myself. It made it sound even more real.

I felt Naruto's hand tense up on top of mine. I lifted my head to see what his reaction was…I instantly regretted it. He was still looking at me with those eyes. But…his eyes contained a slightly different emotion this time. I stared at them for a while, trying to place my finger on which one.

Then, I felt him shift and wrap his arms around me, pulling me closer. And that's when I realized what emotion it was… It was empathy. Like a raging river crashing over a dam, my tears burst from my eyes and I began to bitterly weep on his orange polyester jacket. And in response, I felt him embrace me even tighter.

How is it that a person I've only known for a few months would be the first one to show me any type of affection within my whole life, aside from my late mother? Why am I behaving in such a way? Why with Naruto?

"I'm sorry…" I managed to sob out. "I… didn't mean for you to see me like this." I mumbled into his shoulder. I was trying to regain at least some of my composure.

"It's fine Hinata." He said softly. "I just wish you could tell me what is going on with you. " I looked up at him. He was still holding me…I sighed.

"I don't want to hide it from you." I admitted. "And I don't want to lie to you…I _can't _lie to you." I was really against being dishonest, that is a big reason why I try to keep myself neutral. "- but I can't tell you the whole truth… not just yet. Not right here…not right now." I told him.

"But later…?" He mumbled distractedly, picking up strands of my hair and gliding it through his hand.

"…Okay." I agreed, and I just laid into the crook of his neck while he tended to his odd fascination with my hair.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata, ready to go?" Naruto asked the next morning.

After we left the bus stop, after who knows how long, we ended up at Sakura's door step. Her family was kind enough to let me stay. Naruto would've let me stay over with him, but he thought I'd be more comfortable with the Haruno's, considering only females were currently staying there.

However, it was decided that we would go speak to Neji about my situation the next day, which is where we were heading.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked me as we were walking down the sidewalk. It was still early in the morning, so the ice hadn't quite melted off the sidewalk yet. I looked up at the gray sky, misted over with clouds.

"Honestly, I didn't sleep at all." I told him.

"Heh, me either, Hinata. I spent all night thinking about today." He confessed. "I'm excited." He finished.

"Well, that makes one of us." I mumbled kicking a pebble on the sidewalk. He grabbed my hand, and I slightly shuddered from his touch.

"Everything's going to be okay, Hinata." He tried to reassure me. Needless to say, it did calm my nerves a little. I just didn't want to face my cousin. The last time I saw him before we moved here he had this harsh grudge against me. I still don't even know what for. He would always glare angrily at me when I tried to have friendly conversation with him. Ever since we came here, I've tried to steer clear of him. I only spoke to him when necessary, and only the bare minimum amount of conversation. Let's just say we don't exactly have the best relationship.

I inwardly groaned as different scenarios played in my head.

Scenario 1:

"_Hey, Neji. We just came here to see what we should do concerning Hinata's situation." Naruto asked, with a large grin on his face._

"_I'm busy." Neji slammed the door._

Scenario 2:

"_Hey, Neji. We just came here to see what we should do concerning Hinata's situation." Nauto asked, with a large grin on his face._

"_Go away." Neji slammed the door._

Scenario 3:

"_Hey, Neji. We just came here to see what we should do concerning Hinata's situation." Naruto asked with a large grin on his face._

"_Who the hell is Hinata?" Neji slammed the door._

Ughh, I think I feared the last one the most…

"Hinata, this is the place, right?" Naruto asked, bringing me out of my reverie.

"Hm? Oh-Uh…Yes." I replied. We were standing at the end of the driveway. Yeah, I'd recognize this old dark gray, shingled house from a mile away. With the dead, black trees that casually leaned against the roof. This was definitely the creepiness of a Hyuuga household. If that didn't give it away, the Hyuuga crest on the mailbox surely did.

However, the light blanket of snow in the yard and on the roof did balance out some of its eeriness, but that was only slightly.

I drew in a shaky breath as we walked up the porch steps and Naruto reached out for the doorbell. I clung to his other arm for support. He chuckled slightly after ringing the bell.

"It's alright, Hinata."

I closed my eyes tightly as I heard movement on the other side of the door. Finally the turn of the doorknob drifted to my ears and Naruto's voice soon followed after.

"Hey, Neji. Sorry to bother you so early. We just came here to see what we should do concerning Hinata's condition."

"Hinata's condition? What condition?" I heard Neji's deep voice demand. I opened my eyes in shock. Neji was actually concerned?

"Well, Hinata…she's been locked out of her house." Naruto continued.

"What?" He replied, disbelievingly. He looked over to me, "You've been locked out?" He asked again, maybe he thought he heard wrong.

I was just astonished that he even spoke a full sentence to me. All I could manage was a nod.

I heard him groan and mutter under his breath in anger, not to anyone in particular. He opened the door wider and said, "Come in."

* * *

Naruto and I sat at Neji's dining table while Neji came over and sat down some tea in front of us. I didn't feel as nervous as I did before, this conversation would go smoothly.

"So, what's going on with you, Hinata?" I heard Naruto ask.

"Wait, she didn't even tell you?" Neji responded, sounding even more disbelieving.

Maybe I spoke too soon about this going smoothly.

"Well, I found her in such an emotionally fragile state. I didn't wanna push her too much." Naruto shrugged. "She didn't tell me the whole story."

I felt two pairs of eyes fall on me. I concentrated on my rippled reflection in my tea.

"Hinata?" I heard Naruto prod and I sighed. I bit my lip, looking up at Neji. Hopefully he would understand my glances of distress.

"You're going to have to tell him, Hinata. Don't put his life in danger." Neji responded reading me easily. "It's his choice."

"Okay, what am I missing here?" Naruto joked. I sadly smiled at him.

"I- I wanted to put off telling you this as long as I could." I admitted. "I fear what your reaction to this will be." Naruto's whole demeanor switched to serious.

"What is it, Hinata?" He placed his hand on top of mine. I saw Neji quirk an eyebrow from the corner of my eye, but he said nothing.

"Well, have you ever heard of the Black Market?" I decided to start off asking; maybe I wouldn't have to explain as much.

"Uh…the who, now?" He responded.

"The Black Market." I repeated. "It's an underground market that sells stolen goods for cheap." I explained.

"Oh…I think I've heard of that." He straightened up in his chair. "I thought that was just an urban legend." He replied. I shook my head.

"Oh no, it's very real." I told him. "And I know firsthand because the Hyuuga family is behind the whole operation." I continued.

"Wait," Naruto suddenly remarked, "You mean to tell me that your family is behind a large scale, illegal operation." I nodded.

"Our grandfather," I gestured to Neji, "Our fathers' father, came up with the whole thing, down to the very last detail." I explained, "He set up two separate branches for operation. That way, if one branch for whatever reason, has to shut down, the other one will still be up and running." I tried to make this as straight to the point as I could, I didn't want to even think about the truth behind my family. I let out a breath and continued.

"A few months ago, one of these branches shut down. My uncle, Neji's father, Hizashi was the head over that branch." I frowned as sad memories came flowing back into my mind. "He was targeted by some of the 'employees' of the 'entry level jobs'. These are the people who actually steal all the stolen items, the Akatsuki. They send these items to the markets owned by the Hyuuga family, under an alias. So, no one knows the Hyuuga family is associated to The Black Market in anyway.

After a while, greed had entered Hizashi's heart and he began to hold back a percentage of the profits that actually belonged to the Akatsuki, and after a while they noticed what was happening. " I stopped, as I felt a sob rising in my throat.

"So…the Akatsuki came in the night and struck Hizashi to death." I whispered. I looked over at Neji, he didn't at all affected by the mention or his father's murder. I felt Naruto's hand tense on top of mine.

"Did anybody call the police!" He growled. I returned my gaze over to him and sighed.

"It's complicated, Naruto. Our family is involved in one of the top illegal organizations that has ever existed. If the Hyuuga's got the police involved, The Black Market is sure to be uncovered, and our family will be brought to shame." Naruto balled up his fists in his lap.

"Okay, so what does this have to do with you being locked out of the house?" he asked, trying to remain calm. I looked down at my tea as I continued with my story.

"My father, Hiashi, is the current head over the branch that was located in the Sound Village-"

"The team we just played against last night!" Naruto realized. I nodded my head.

"Right," I confirmed, "The Black Market's central location is in the Sound Village. That's where the Akatsuki's hideout is, the selling side of the business is located here, in the Leaf Village. My father, sister, and I moved here after the news of my uncle's death. At first, I thought we were moving here for a fresh start, to live closer to our relatives, and to vanquish The Black Market.

I was so very wrong. I realized the first day of school, the day my father told me to come straight home to prepare the house for a special guest, the real reason we moved here, which was to train the heir of the Market Branch."

"Who's that?" Naruto asked.

"Me." Neji sud denly answered.

"What! Neji! But, he's still in High School!" I shrugged my shoulders.

"We're here until Neji graduates."

"Which is this year…" Naruto finally pieced together. I nodded and continued.

"So, I was grounded because I forgot, and I realized the special guest was Neji when you said you knew him."

"You didn't know Neji went to our school?" I shook my head.

"I didn't know where any other Hyuuga lived outside of Sound Village. I assume it's a safety precaution that only the head of the branch knows. I can't really say for sure." I sighed.

In an attempt to end this long story I continued, "My father attended the game against the Sound Village with my sister. I asked my father if I could go along with them, and he said it was fine. But…they left without me. I really wanted to see you play, Naruto, and you too Neji, of course. And I would see all my old classmates. So, I walked."

"Hinata, I wasn't serious when I said you should sneak out." Naruto half joked.

"You told her to sneak out?" Neji asked accusingly. I interrupted before Neji could interrogate Naruto even further.

"I didn't technically sneak out since he gave me permission to go." I reminded. "However, when I returned home from the game, there was a note left for me on the door."

"What did it say?" Naruto asked.

"It read: _'Hinata, you've disobeyed my orders to leave without permission. I told you that you could attend the game with Hanabi and I, and not unattended. We left because you were unprepared. You are hereby banished from the house until further notice.'_ "

"Your dad's an ass." Naruto responded. I looked at him, knowing in my heart that the statement was true.

"This is all confidential, Naruto." Neji suddenly interrupted. "We only decided to tell you this because you were growing closer to Hinata and as a warning of what you were getting into." Naruto leaned back in his chair.

"So what? What if I do let out this giant secret?" Naruto said, mockingly. I frowned.

"We told you what happened to my father." Neji replied. "I'm trying to find a way to stop this whole thing from even existing. But until then, I need you to keep watch over Hinata. I'll keep tabs on what's going on inside."

I didn't even know Neji was against this organization. Well, I guess he would be since it killed his father.

"What can I do to help, Neji?" I asked. He turned his attention to me, surprised.

"Well, for now, I need you to get back on your feet and back in good graces with your father." He told me, "I'd give you money from the company, but I don't want you to handle dirty money. Most of it is going to Hiashi, anyway. He's only giving me the bare minimum to pay for utilities…I can get you a job though."

"Really, where?" I asked. If I could show my father that I can function on my own, he may be more pleased with me.

"Tenten's family owns a convenience store not too far from school. I can call her and get you a job. She owes me a favor anyway."

I don't know what came over me, but I felt the urge to go over to Neji and hug him.

"Thanks, Neji. I can't tell you how much this means." He awkwardly patted me on the back.

"Ahem, uhm it's no problem." Then he looked over to Naruto. "I can't have her at this house. It would get back to Hiashi that his heiress is staying here."

"Oh, she's been staying at Sakura's place." Neji nodded approvingly.

"Good. So, far you've have proved yourself capable." He said, "I wanted to see if you would say she was staying with _you_." Neji said with such a large implication. Naruto raised his hands in defense.

"Oh, no no no. I respect Hinata too much for that."

My heart leaped in my chest at the implication. Naruto respected me? It made me a bit more hopeful that I could earn the same respect from my father…

* * *

The following Monday, Naruto and I were sitting in the cafeteria for breakfast.

That weekend, we went to see Tenten about my job. She told me I would start working afterschool today. I was so grateful for all the support I was getting, from Naruto, especially. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a place to stay, I wouldn't have even stepped on Neji's property, and I probably wouldn't be anywhere near earning my father's respect…

I looked up and noticed Ino with her head down at the next table.

"I wonder what's wrong with her." I said under my breath, I forgot Naruto was sitting next to me.

"Probably just broke a nail or some junk." I heard him say. I shook my head at him; he could be so un-empathetic at times, as well.

Next, I noticed Shikamaru come and sit down by her with his mini tray. She looked up at him, red in the face, most likely from crying, and buried her face in his chest.

"He must be miserable…" I said to myself, again. I thought about that morning when he came to drive Sakura and me to school. The first thing he even mentioned was Ino and how he's worried that her crush on Sasuke was unhealthy.

"I would be miserable if I had to listen to Ino complain all day too!" Naruto replied, shrugging his shoulders. I sighed.

"…Uhm, No…Naruto…" I barely managed to get out.

"That's the only thing I can think of." He said as his eyes closed to slits. I took a deep breath, as I prepared myself for the next sentence. Looking over at their table again, I replied slowly,

"He's not miserable because of that…" I watched Shikamaru offer Ino his only muffin. Then my gaze wandered back over to Naruto, and I confidently added, "He loves her."

"WHAT?"

I nodded silently.

"Hinata, please, don't make such senile jokes." I raised my eyebrow at him and returned to my breakfast.

"Naruto…I'm not the best at making jokes, but I know what the heart sounds like when it speaks." I told him and bit into my own muffin.

"Uh…What now?" Naruto replied, confused. I just laughed, lightly.

"Eat your breakfast, Naruto." I said and smiled at him.

* * *

Naruto and I were nearly inseparable.

He was with me practically ever since he found me at the bus stop. He walked with me to class, he walked me to lunch, and he walked me to work. It was great, I must say. I honestly thought after he learned about my family that he would start avoiding me…

"Alright, Hinata. I'll be back here at 10 when the store closes. Don't leave until I come, okay?" Naruto told me. I nodded and smiled. He gave me a quick embrace before leaving. I could feel my face heating up and touched my cheek, lightly.

"Aw, how cute."

"Wh-what?" I stammered and turned around to direction where I heard the voice. I didn't realize anyone was watching. It was Tenten, she laughed.

"Are you and Uzumaki dating?" she asked, leaning against the checkout counter.

Dating? My face flushed even more.

"Uh-uh no…we're just friends." I replied as clearly as I could muster. She nodded and walked over to me, I reflexively took a step back.

"Well, you like him right?" she asked, plainly. How could she ask so nonchalantly? I panicked in my head. Do I like him? I mean, of course I've thought about it. I wasn't even sure myself. I think I do…

"I g-guess…" I stuttered and looked down at my shoes. Ugh, this habit is so annoying. I'll never get my father to even look in my direction at this rate.

I forced myself to look at Tenten, square in the eye. She had a confident and mature air about her, maybe if I hung around her more, some of it will rub off on me.

"Tenten?" I said quietly.

"Hm?"

"What if I did…like him?" I asked. What would she think about it? I watched her take in a deep breath. I almost regretted asking.

"Oh, my gosh! I think you guys would look so cute! My younger buddy and cute, innocent, Hinata!" She rambled on a bit more about how our children would have our cute features, and how she would be called "Aunt T", and just how cute and adorable we would be…

"But-"she said, finally.

"But?"

"Naruto's a football player…" she added.

"And…?" I wasn't getting what she was trying to say. She let out a breath.

"My dear Hinata. I know it's kinda cliché to talk about cliques and stuff, but somehow they really exist and matter at our school."

Seriously?

"The cheerleaders and fan girls here take their titles ultra-seriously. If you're not in either one of these groups, they expect you to not even look at a football player." She paused and looked at me, "No one is giving you any trouble about hanging around him, are they?" I shook my head no. "Good," she said, "And Naruto's not even dumb enough to give a fan girl the time of day! So, other than that, I think you two would check out as an awesome pair." She winked and turned around to get back to work.

I walked to the back room to clock in.

Naruto and I…a couple?

I shook my head.

There's no use even pondering the thought. It's not like he looks at me the same way. We're just friends, that's all.

I sighed.

That's all…

* * *

**Tuesday**

The next day, Shikamaru was driving Sakura and me to school once again.

I walked to my locker and a folded piece of paper fell out, I picked it up off the ground.

_"To: Naruto",_ It read. I looked around for him. He's usually here before me... I stared at the paper in folded in my palm. I wonder who it's from…

I shook my head.

No, this is a personal message to Naruto…

But still…

Well, it is technically, partially my property too, since it's my locker and all, right?

I looked around again, and took a deep breath.

I began to unfold the note…

"Good morning, Hinata."

"AHH!" I yelped and dropped the paper again. It was Naruto, just my luck.

"Hey, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the note. I quickly grabbed it and passed it to him.

"Someone left this for you." I said in one breath.

"For me?" He said with a questioning eyebrow rose. He unfolded the paper and scanned it. Then, he chuckled.

"What…What's so funny?" I found the nerve to ask, slightly peering over his shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, it's an inside joke, Hinata. You wouldn't get it." He said and folded the paper back up.

"Oh…" I muttered.

* * *

The day went on as usual.

Naruto walked with me everywhere, as usual.

However, something just…wasn't right. Something was off, and I couldn't place my finger on what exactly…

The first time I noticed was when we were walking to the library for lunch. I decided that I would resume my participation in the Debate Club and we were meeting Sakura and Sasuke there for research.

As we were walking, this random girl, whom I've never even seen before, comes up to Naruto and starts talking to him like they've known each other since for ever. I kind of just stood there awkwardly while they talked…

"Who was that?" I asked when she left.

"Hm? Oh, that was just Mayuri." He said. I just shrugged it off.

The next time I noticed was at gym.

Usually, when we have gym, Naruto and I always hang out together. Today though, he was playing basketball with the guys, and a lot of people crowded around to watch.

Not that I think this is bad or anything, it's just… since when did Naruto get so many friends?

* * *

I didn't have work today after school, so I helped the debate club with the float for the homecoming parade. Sakura and I were painting the paper-maché.

"Do you…Do you think Naruto's been acting…strange?" I asked her.

"Strange like how?" She replied.

"I don't know…" I said, "Has he always been so popular?"

"Popular?" She repeated, and then laughed, "Naruto?" I shrugged.

"I just don't want him to start avoiding me or anything…" I admitted. Her green eyes found their way over to my lavender ones.

"Hinata…" She said quietly, "If Naruto starts avoiding you then don't waste your time worrying about it."

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

"What I'm saying is if he starts avoiding you, then it's his loss." Her eyebrows formed a crease in her forehead. It seemed like I touched a personal area. Then, suddenly she was back to normal. "Naruto's not like that though, so I wouldn't worry." She smiled and turned back to painting.

Yeah, she's right… What do I have to worry about?

* * *

**Wednesday**

The next day after lunch,

I pushed open the wooden doors of the library with my back while carrying my tray. I wonder what happened to Naruto…he's usually always on time when meeting with me.

"Wondering what happened to Naruto?" I heard a female voice say. I turned to the left, towards the cafeteria, and saw Ino there with Ami, smug expressions on their faces. I kept my expression neutral as I responded,

"Oh, yes. I've been waiting on him. Have you seen him, by chance?" I blinked as they began to laugh, cackling as witches would.

"Ohh boy…you're hilarious." Ino said as she began to settle down, "Are you really this _dense_?"

Dense? I repeated in my mind.

"Did you ever for once think that he was avoiding you? Huh?" she walked closer to me and Ami leaned against the wall. I reflexively took a step back and she knocked my tray to the floor.

I looked down and bitterly bit my lip trying to hold down my fury. I could not afford a referral in my current condition with my father.

I felt her fingers raise my chin to force me to meet her cold, icy blue glare.

"Listen you whore," she began in a low voice, an angry tear slid down my cheek, "your plan to win over all the football players is failing miserably."

What?

"Leave them to the cheerleaders and ease off with your lame debate club ass." She finished and pushed me backwards.

I closed my eyes waiting for the floor's impact, but instead I fell into someone's chest with a thud.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" I heard a familiar voice bark out. I looked up and saw the chiseled jaw of Naruto and his unmistakable blonde hair.

"Naruto! I-uh…" Ino stuttered before she ran off with Ami into the cafeteria.

"Crazy females…" I heard him mutter before turning his attention towards me, "You okay, Hinata?" he asked, peering down at me with those eyes.

I should be mad…at him _and _Ino. But, when he brushed back my bangs, I couldn't help but produce a small grin.

"I'm fine." I told him. He returned my smile and all my anger evaporated.

"Come on, let's get this stuff up."

* * *

After school, I walked with Naruto to his apartment to get ready for work and to kill a little time before I had to be there. Football practice was cancelled this week, so he didn't have to rush to get back to school. As we walked up the steps to his door, I heard a lot of loud music and yelling coming from the floor above us.

"Do you ever get any sleep with all this noise going on?" I asked him while he unlocked his door.

"Eh, it's fine. I always hear parties going on upstairs. You kind of grow immune to it after a while, so it's no big deal." He shrugged and we walked through his doorway.

I started shrugging my coat off while he went over to the thermostat to turn the heat on.

"Well, maybe you could throw your own party…for your birthday…or something." I suggested. His blue eyes flickered over to me.

"Hm? Actually, my birthday was on Monday."

"Wh-what?" I stammered. Oh no. I felt horrible. I didn't even wish him a happy birthday…he chuckled.

"It's no big deal, it's just my birthday. I actually had forgotten until just now." I frowned at his thoughtful face. How could he merely shrug at the passing of his birthday?

* * *

I almost felt as if I was disturbing an intimate moment.

I returned to Sakura's house after work and Sasuke was still over. They were sitting at the dining room table doing homework and I decided to join them…

It seemed like an ordinary study group, although, if you were as observant as I, you would notice the silent conversation in their eyes, dancing back and forth across the table. If you weren't careful, you'd miss the slight lingering touch of their hands as they passed each other supplies.

The way Sakura always twisted her rosy strands around her fingertips conveyed how flustered she was whenever Sasuke glanced in her direction.

However, Sasuke…he seemed to be at war with himself.

Did he keep looking away because he was shy? Or was it because he was trying to fight his obvious attraction?

Whatever it was, I felt like I was intruding.

"I'm…going to sleep now, okay? Goodnight."

* * *

I was lying on the pink couch in Sakura's room when I heard the door open. I looked up from the book I was reading and watched her walk over to sit on the edge of her bed. I continued reading my book for a couple of seconds before I heard her speak.

"Hinata…"

"Yes?" I asked, looking up from my book, once again.

"I think I'm falling for this guy…" she replied slowly.

I can't say that I didn't see this one coming.

"Oh…really?" I smiled at her, and closed my book.

She nodded and laid back on her pillows, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah…he's awesome. We talk all the time, we have so much in common, he's so handsome, so thoughtful, very polite…helpful."

"He sounds nice." I supplied.

"Yeah, but…"

"But?"

"But...my friend likes him too…and besides that, I'm not sure if he only views me as a friend or not."

"Are you kidding me…?" I said under my breath.

"What's that, Hinata?" She asked and sat up.

"I think you should ask him, that's the only way you'll know for sure." I told her.

She nodded.

"But, what about the friend who likes him?" she asked.

"If you really feel like you're in love with this guy, she should understand. No friendship should be ruined that easily over a guy. You should tell your friends how you feel, both him and her." I replied, surprisingly clearly.

"Easier said than done." She said and laughed.

"You can do it." I told her.

"Thanks, Hinata." She smiled, "Oh, by the way, I got Sasuke to get us the keys."

I inwardly celebrated.

"Thank you, Sakura."

* * *

The next day after lunch,

"Naruto, thanks for spending lunch with us." The two girls giggled. My stomach filled with dread at this implication. Is this where Naruto has been spending his lunch the past two days? I frowned as I looked up at his flustered grin he always made.

"It was no problem, ladies." He replied. They giggled again and started idle chit-chat with him as he folded his hands behind his head in aloofness.

_It was no problem_, I echoed in my head. Did you forget about our meeting completely, Naruto?

They began to slowly stroll away as I struggled to balance my books while keeping up. It was when I dropped them with a loud _thud _that they decided to notice my presence. All three of them turned around in unison. Two, annoyed glares and one surprised, blue eyed expression.

"Oh, Hinata!" he'd exclaimed and hurriedly helped me to retrieve the tattered texts, "You okay? Sorry, I didn't see you there." He added. I frowned and thought dejectedly, you didn't even see me?

I nodded as if everything was fine and stood up as he passed me back my books.

"I'll see you later, okay?" he said before turning and walking away with the two girls.

I watched their retreating forms walk out of the building with a tight chest and stinging eyes.

Where are you going…Naruto?

* * *

**A/N: …I have no more excuses for you lol. I keep changing the ending and the plot and…ugh I just needed to reorganize everything. So, hopefully I will be installing more swiftly now, if not…just know I haven't given up! Lol. Anyways, here's the next installment.**

**Next time on L.Y.H.W. :D**

"Well, I do have one brother…" I told her, staring at the milkshake in front of me.

"Really? You never talk about him." I heard her say.

I placed my hand on my chin as I looked out the window.

I watched the people walk by on the sidewalk and let air escape my nostrils.

"What's there to talk about? I haven't seen him in years." I replied softly.


End file.
